Department for Transport

Bus Services: Greater Manchester

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of bus journey usage in Greater Manchester in each year since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The table below shows the number of bus passenger journeys in each year since 2009/10 for Greater Manchester.Passenger journeys (millions) on local bus services by local authority: Greater Manchester ITA, from 2009/10:YearGreater Manchester2009/10220.82010/11216.92011/12205.92012/13208.52013/14216.02014/15213.02015/16205.02016/17201.4 Source: DfT Local bus passenger journeys, BUS0109a Greater Manchester has an extensive public transport system and over a similar time period, passenger journeys on the Manchester Metrolink light rail network increased by 22 million from 19.2 million in 2010/11 to 41.2 million in 2017/18. Local authorities are best placed to manage changes in their local bus network. The Bus Services Act 2017 gives them additional powers to do so through partnership working with commercial operators. It also gives Mayoral Combined authorities the automatic right to franchise their bus network and the Department for Transport can also grant these powers to other local authorities who make a satisfactory business case. The Department is also developing regulations to require bus operators and local transport authorities to provide data, in open formats, about local bus services including routes and timetable data; fares and ticket data; and real time information. We are working closely with industry to develop the regulations and it is intended the requirements will be phased in over the next few years.

Shipping

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the membership of the (a) Maritime 2050 panel and (b) Clean Maritime Council.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The membership of the Maritime 2050 Expert Panel is:Hugh McNeal, Chief Executive of RenewableUK and Chair of the Expert PanelDr Panagiotis Angeloudis, Senior Lecturer in Transport Systems and Logistics, Imperial College LondonLucy Armstrong, Chairman, Port of TyneTom Boardley, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Corporate and External Affairs, Lloyd’s RegisterDavid Dingle CBE, Chairman, Maritime UKProfessor Costas Grammenos CBE, DSc, Chairman, Centre for Shipping, Trade & Finance, Cass Business School, City, University of LondonDr Grahaeme Henderson, Vice President, Shipping & Maritime, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company LimitedSarah Kenny, Chief Executive, BMT GroupProfessor David Lane CBE, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot Watt UniversityDr David Loosley, Chief Executive, IMarEST (Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology)Michael Parker, Global Head for Shipping, Logistics and Offshore Industries, CitigroupNeil Roberts, Lloyds Market AssociationMartin Stopford, President, Clarkson ResearchThe membership of the Clean Maritime Council is: Mr Roger Hargreaves (Chair) – UK Department for TransportMr David Balston, UK Chamber of Shipping Captain Fran Collins, Red Funnel Group Professor Alex Duffy, MaRI-UK Ms Angie Farrag-Thibault, Clean Cargo Working Group, Business for Social Responsibility Ms Diane Gilpin, Smart Green Shipping Alliance Mr Chris Hill, ORE Catapult Mr David Loosley, Institute for Marine Engineering, Science and Technology Mr Gerry Marshall, Ferguson Marine Mr Tim Morris, UK Major Ports Group Mr Nick Power, Engie Mr Mark Ranson, National Workboat Association Dr Tristan Smith, University College London Energy Institute Mr Jos Standerwick, Maritime London Baroness Bryony Worthington, Environmental Defense Fund The Council is also advised by representatives from: Innovate UK; the Committee on Climate Change; the Department for Transport; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Merchant Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) staffing and (b) funding levels required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to ensure compliance with International Maritime Organisation regulations for monitoring, verification and reporting of (i) sulphur dioxide, (ii) carbon dioxide and (iii) greenhouse gas emissions from (A) UK and (B) international registered merchant shipping in each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Data Collection System for fuel consumption, a metric for CO2 emissions, is not expected to create a significant new burden for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as the bulk of the new requirements for data collection and processing sit with the Classification Societies acting on behalf of the flag State. The MCA will undertake inspection activities to verify compliance of vessels in UK ports as part of normal Port State Control Activity. The regime for verifying the sulphur content of marine fuels remains unchanged and is carried out as part of the MCA’s existing budget and complement.

International Maritime Organisation

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the UK Government delegation to the 73rd meeting of the International Maritime Organisation’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in London 22-26 October 2018.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK delegation for the 73rd meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee will be as follows: Head of Delegation Ms Katy Ware, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to IMO and Director of Maritime Safety and Standards, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Alternate Mr Gwilym Stone, Assistant Director, Ship Standards, MCA. Advisors Mr Tom Newman-Taylor, Deputy Director, Maritime Environment, Technology and Innovation, Department for Transport (DfT).Ms Katie Carleton, Head of Maritime International Environment and Climate Change, DfT.Mr Ian Timpson, Senior Policy Advisor, Ship Emissions and Recycling, Maritime Safety and Environment Division, DfT.Mr Ethan Hall, Policy Lead, Domestic Shipping Emissions, DfT.Mr James Kopka, Economic Adviser, Aviation and Maritime Economics, DfT.Mr Andrew Newnham, Assistant Economist, DfT.Ms Mallory Sedgwick, Policy Advisor, DfT.Mr James Brown. Head Marine Litter, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.Ms Sophie Rogers, Marine Pollution Lead, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.Mr Kevin Hunter, International Relations Manager (Technical), MCA.Mr Andrew Wibroe, EU Exit Coordinator, MCA.Mr David MacRae, Environmental Policy Specialist, MCA.Mr. Bennett Ng, Environmental Policy Specialist, MCA.Ms Lorraine Weller, Senior Policy Advisor, MCA.Mrs. Leanne Page, Policy Advisor, MCA.Ms. Katharine Palmer, Manager, Environment & Sustainability, Lloyd’s Register EMEA.Mr Timothy Wilson, Principal Specialist, Lloyds Register, EMEA.Ms Yue Yao, Principal Specialist in Charge, Statutory Section, Lloyd’s Register Asia.Ms Anna Ziou, Policy Director, UK Chamber of Shipping.Mr Robert Carington, Policy Advisor, UK Chamber of Shipping.Dr Zabi Bazari, Managing Director Energy and Emissions Solutions.

Shipping: Training

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to review the operation of the three-year ratings training pilot introduced in the Tonnage Tax (Training Requirement) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many shipping companies have trained UK ratings as a result of the introduction of the pilot scheme in the Tonnage Tax (Training Requirement) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many UK ratings were trained by Tonnage Tax qualifying companies using the three-year pilot scheme introduced in the Tonnage Tax (Training Requirement) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The three-year ratings training pilot was introduced in the Tonnage Tax (Training Requirement) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 following proposals made by the industry and Unions. Since its creation 3 companies have trained a total of 40 ratings. Whilst this demonstrates limited initial take up we recognise there were some initial challenges bringing this option into effect. We will continue to work with employers and the unions to promote this training option under our tonnage tax and will ensure that our guidance provides greater clarity for companies. The pilot was initially introduced for a period of at least three years and first enabled companies to use it in October 2015, although it is recognised that many colleges would already have established their 2015/16 syllabus, when the Regulations were made. Nevertheless we will keep its operation under review. The ratings training pilot is one method for creating ratings opportunities. The Department is also an active member of the Ratings Task Force together with industry and Unions and looks forward to the development of a Ratings Strategy. It is the responsibility of Government, Unions and industry to identify opportunities to increase our ratings numbers.

Shipping

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to update the Maritime 2050 strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Maritime 2050 will set the Government’s long term strategy for the UK maritime sector. A clear path for the future and a strong partnership between industry and government is crucial if we are to reach our full potential as a world maritime leader. Detailed discussions with industry and other stakeholders have informed the development of the strategy, which is due to be finalised by the end of this year, ready for launch shortly thereafter.

Leeds-Bradford Airport

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which stakeholders he met with during his visit to Leeds Bradford Airport on 2 August 2018.

Jesse Norman: Ministers meet with a range of stakeholders during visits. Details of meetings with third parties are published in the regular quarterly transparency returns.

Bus Services: Standards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trends in the (a) quantity and (b) frequency of bus services in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) England since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department does not hold any data relating to the quantity and frequency of bus services in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency. The lowest level geography available is the upper tier local authority, which in this case is Cheshire and West Chester. Data on vehicle miles on local bus services by local authority in England, including Cheshire and West Chester, is available for the years 2013/14 to 2016/17 in the data table BUS0208 in the Annual Bus Statistics for each respective year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-statistics#published-in-2018  Bus operators must register their services with a traffic commissioner in the traffic area in which the service operates. The Traffic Commissioners’ annual reports provide information on the number of live local bus registrations in the North Western and all other English Traffic Areas as at 31 March of each year; this information can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traffic-commissioners-annual-reports. The report for the year ending March 2010 can be found here http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131113220328/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-commissioners-annual-reports Local authorities are best placed to manage changes in their local bus network. The Bus Services Act 2017 gives them additional powers to do so through partnership working with commercial operators. It also gives Mayoral Combined authorities the automatic right to franchise their bus network and the Department for Transport can also grant these powers to other local authorities who make a satisfactory business case. The Department is also developing regulations to require bus operators and local transport authorities to provide data, in open formats, about local bus services including routes and timetable data; fares and ticket data; and real time information. We are working closely with industry to develop the regulations and it is intended the requirements will be phased in over the next few years.

Bus Services: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many supported bus services there have been in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency in each year since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Up until 31 December 2013 Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was paid directly to bus operators and was not split between commercially run or subsidised bus services. We are therefore unable to provide figures for this period. From 1 January 2014 local authorities have received funding equivalent to the level of BSOG which would otherwise have been paid to operators for running subsidised services in 2014. Details of the amounts paid to local authorities each year can be found on the “Payments to Local Authorities” tab of the relevant spreadsheets published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-services-grants-and-funding#bsog-spend

Cycling and Walking

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding is available to councils for local cycling and walking infrastructure plans as part of the cycling and walking investment strategy.

Jesse Norman: The Government has made funding available through a number of avenues to deliver LCWIPs, as outlined in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS), including through the Integrated Transport Block and Highways Maintenance Fund. Since publication of the CWIS, additional funding streams have been made available for investment on cycling and walking infrastructure, including the £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund, £220 million through the Clean Air Fund and £5 billion through the Housing Infrastructure Fund. Decisions on future funding for cycling and walking will be made in the context of the next Spending Review, which will take place in 2019.

Electric Vehicles: Grants

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department has taken the decision to abolish the grant scheme for new plug-in hybrid cars.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason his Department has taken the decision to reduce the plug-in car grants for electric vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Plug-in Car Grant was first introduced in 2011 to help to stimulate the early market for ultra-low emission vehicles. So far, it has supported the purchase of over 160,000 new cars. The market share of these vehicles is now 2-2.5% of new car sales and growing. Increased uptake of the grant, whilst positive, brings higher costs to the taxpayer, and the changes to the grant reflect the Government’s commitment in the Road to Zero strategy to deliver a managed exit from grant funding over time. Their effect is to allow the grant to support the purchase of 35,000 more of the cleanest vehicles. With plug-in hybrid models becoming popular among consumers the Government is focussing its attention on zero emission models. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are among the cleanest on the road, and can deliver significant savings compared to petrol/diesel cars. These vehicles will continue to receive support through lower car tax rates, grants for charging infrastructure and local incentives (such as free parking). The Government has also separately extended its support for electric vehicles with a new scheme to support e-cargo bikes.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Natural Gas

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to ensure that there is a secure supply of gas for residents of (a) England and (b) Sheffield Hallam in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Claire Perry: Maintaining security of supply is a top priority. The Government has been implementing a significant programme of work to ensure the UK will be ready for EU Exit in all scenarios, including in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Even with an unlikely ‘no deal’ outcome, the mechanisms of cross-border gas trading are not expected to fundamentally change for the UK and so we expect no material impact on security of supply. Government has set out in a technical notice how cross-border gas trading may be impacted in the unlikely event of a no deal Brexit.

Electricity

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to ensure that there is a secure supply of electricity for residents of (a) England and (b) Sheffield Hallam in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Claire Perry: Maintaining security of supply is a top priority. The Government has been implementing a significant programme of work to ensure the UK will be ready for EU Exit in all scenarios, including in the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The Government is working with Ofgem and National Grid to ensure security of supply following EU Exit utilising existing measures such as the Capacity Market. Government has set out in a technical notice how cross-border trade and supply of electricity may be impacted in the unlikely event of a No Deal.

Renewable Energy: Expenditure

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Government has spent on renewable energy through the Contracts for Difference programme.

Claire Perry: Contracts for Difference (CfDs) are funded through a levy on GB electricity suppliers, and ultimately by consumers through their energy bills. £636.4m has been spent on renewable electricity generation through the CfD since the first project started generating in 2016/17. The latest forecasts published by the Office for Budget Responsibility estimate an annual scheme cost of £3bn by 2022/23, the year by which all current CfD projects are expected to have commissioned. In the Clean Growth Strategy, published in October 2017, Government confirmed it would be making up to £557m (in 2011/12 prices) of annual support available for further CfDs.

Coal Fired Power Stations

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress the Government has made on implementing its commitment to end unabated coal power generation by 2025.

Claire Perry: On 5 January 2018 we set out that coal-fired power stations will need to close by 1 October 2025 unless they invest to reduce their emissions to 450g CO2 per kWh. The government is exploring the appropriate legislative vehicle for introducing this emissions intensity limit and intend that it is introduced before the 2021 Capacity Market auction round. This auction round will be the first that secures capacity beyond 1 October 2025 at which point unabated coal will no longer be able to participate.

Green Deal Scheme: Appeals

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Green Deal loan appeals his Department has received; and how many of those appeals have been completed.

Claire Perry: Under the Green Deal Framework (Disclosure, Acknowledgment, Redress etc.) Regulations 2012, in certain circumstances, complaints may be referred to my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He may impose the sanction of reduction or cancellation of a Green Deal loan, if he is satisfied that there has been a breach of the applicable regulations or code of practice. The cancellation or reduction of a loan represents the full extent of the Secretary of State’s power to provide redress for consumers in relation to the Green Deal Scheme. For cases relating to the company Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd, a specific process has been introduced in advance of appeals to the Secretary of State whereby the Green Deal Finance Company, with the agreement of the Department, is able to make settlement offers direct to consumers. This has led to the resolution of over 100 cases.Seventy nine further cases across all Green Deal loans have now been referred to the Secretary of State. Of these, two have been finalised. The Secretary of State has issued intention notices for two further cases. The Department is committed to resolving all of the cases fairly and as quickly as possible. However, the complex and legal nature of the redress process and detailed information involved means complaints take some time to resolve. We also have to allow for periods during which representations can be made.

Fuel Poverty

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of households in fuel poverty.

Claire Perry: Government is addressing fuel poverty by improving home energy efficiency and making energy more affordable for vulnerable households. Parliament has passed legislation to introduce an energy price cap, protecting households on standard variable and default tariffs in addition to the protection provided by the pre-payment and vulnerable customer safeguard tariffs. Over 2 million low income and vulnerable households will also benefit this winter from the Warm Home Discount, a £140 rebate on their energy bill which we have committed to through to 2021 and all pensioner households receive between £100 and £300 over the winter months through the Winter Fuel Payment. We have also announced that we will focus all of the £640 million per year Energy Company Obligation on low income and vulnerable households from 2018 to 2022. This new scheme will also include support for innovation, aimed at improving quality and reducing the cost of technologies that will be required to meet the fuel poverty target. Beyond those dates, we committed through the Clean Growth Strategy to extending support for energy efficiency at least at the current level of ECO through to 2028, meaning over £6 billion of investment will be made into home energy efficiency over the next ten years. In addition, we introduced legislation in April this year requiring private landlords to improve the energy efficiency of F and G rated properties, so that all tenants can heat their home at a reasonable cost.

Fuel Poverty

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support consumers in financial difficulty to meet their energy costs.

Claire Perry: Protecting low income and vulnerable consumers when it comes to their energy costs is a priority for this Government. This is why the Energy Company Obligation, our main domestic energy efficiency scheme, will now be solely focused on upgrading the homes of those on low incomes to help tackle the root cause of fuel poverty. The Government has also recently extended the Warm Home Discount scheme, which supports over 2 million low income and vulnerable households by cutting £140 off their winter energy bills. The Government is also introducing the energy price cap to protect over 11 million households on poor value standard variable tariff deals this winter.

Renewable Energy

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of electricity generated by (a) solar and (b) other renewable sources.

Claire Perry: For the 12 months ending June 2018, of total UK electricity generationa) 3.5 per cent was generated by solar photovoltaic sources;b) 27.3 per cent was generated by other renewable sources.  Source – Energy Trends table 6.1, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables

Coventry University and Warwick University: Research

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research funding the (a) UK Government and (b) EU have given (i) the University of Warwick and (ii) Coventry University in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The information you have requested is routinely published annually by the Higher Education Standards Agency (HESA) as a part of the HE Finance Plus publication. UK and EU Government Funding of the Universities of Coventry and Warwick, 2010/11-2016/17 (£ thousands)UniversityYearUK Government Research Income1EU Government Research Income2Coventry University2010/115,1671,225 2011/124,8141,153 2012/135,2892,674 2013/145,3183,578 2014/155,8563,271 2015/167,9362,502 2016/1713,7603,014The University of Warwick2010/1198,7056,595 2011/1295,2778,210 2012/1392,0599,412 2013/1493,10711,847 2014/1599,08613,404 2015/16115,24214,212 2016/17111,59616,321Source: HESA Finance Records 2010/11-2016/17 Notes:   1. Includes funding from Research Councils, academies, other central government funding and research tax credits2. EU Government research income covers funding from EU government institutions. Other funding is received from within the EU which is not included, such as from businesses or charities.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has for the use of Article 6.4 of the Paris Climate Change Agreement in any alternative scheme to the EU Emissions Trading System after the UK leaves the EU to allow international greenhouse gas mitigation projects to count towards UK emission reduction targets.

Claire Perry: The Government is considering all factors in relation to the UK’s future participation, or otherwise, in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), in consultation with stakeholders. A range of long-term alternatives are currently under consideration including continued participation in the EU ETS after 2020, a UK ETS (linked or standalone) or a carbon tax. We welcome input from stakeholders and we intend to share more details on policy design in due course. More broadly, I can assure you that the Government is engaging closely in The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations on Article 6, to ensure the underlying rules, modalities and procedures support ambitious global action under the Paris Agreement.

Natural Gas: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to increase access to the natural gas network in Northern Ireland.

Claire Perry: The Government acknowledges the value that a gas connection can bring to households and businesses. However, as energy is a devolved matter, any extensions to the gas network in Northern Ireland would be a matter for a restored Northern Ireland Assembly.

Manufacturing Industries: EU Countries

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with representatives of European car manufacturing companies on their plans to retain manufacturing bases in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: There has been cross-government engagement with key automotive businesses operating in the UK and EU since the referendum. Ministers meet regularly with senior automotive executives, both through the Automotive Council and individually, to discuss investments. As part of the Industrial Strategy, in partnership with the Automotive Council, an ambitious Automotive Sector Deal has been agreed. The Government is determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.

Wind Power: Construction

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many windfarms were built in each of the last three years.

Claire Perry: The Information requested can be found online in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), which can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewable-energy-planning-database-monthly-extractThe REPD tracks all renewable energy projects, including onshore wind and offshore wind projects, equal to or greater than 1MW as they progress through the planning system to when they become operational.

Nuclear Power: Employment

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the Office for National Statistics' conclusions that there are 12,400 full-time direct jobs in nuclear energy reprocessing and generation in the UK.

Richard Harrington: Since 2015, the Department and its predecessor the Department for Energy and Climate Change have used the industry-recognised dataset for jobs in nuclear: the Nuclear Workforce Assessment (NWA). The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) – of which BEIS is a member – conducts a labour market intelligence gathering exercise across the sector to produce the NWA, which is used by the sector to inform employers’ recruitment practices. The latest NWA, published in July 2017, estimates there are currently 18,700 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) employed in fuel processing and generation. The ONS figure is based on a Low-Carbon & Renewable Energy Economy Survey from 2015. That survey uses a different dataset and weighting factor from the NWA which explains the difference between the two estimates.

Natural Gas: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effect on rural households in Northern Ireland of recent trends in the level of gas prices.

Claire Perry: Energy policy is devolved to Northern Ireland, so the Government is not in a position to comment on the prices that a particular set of consumers in Northern Ireland are paying.I am aware, however, that the regulation of the supply of gas to domestic consumers in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Utility Regulator who, among other responsibilities, set a maximum price that can be charged to a defined set of consumers by the dominant gas suppliers.

Employment: Standards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 170362 on Employment, whether he accepts all of the recommendations of the Carnegie Trust report referenced in that Answer; and what plans he has to implement the recommendations from the Carnegie Trust report.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 170362 on Employment, what discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics on the collection of job quality data.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 170362 on Employment, what steps he has taken to develop a minimum job quality standard.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2018 to Question 170362 on Employment, if he will establish an implementation group to support and advise on the delivery and development of the recommendations and proposals set out in the Carnegie Trust report referenced in his Answer.

Kelly Tolhurst: In response to the Taylor Review, Government has committed to publish a final list of quality of work measures and a baseline assessment of quality of work currently in the UK economy. We welcome the Carnegie Trust’s report, published on 7th September, as a valuable input to this work. We are currently considering their recommendations and will respond in due course. As part of this, BEIS officials are engaging with ONS to understand whether and how the Carnegie Trust’s recommendations could be implemented in practice.

Iron and Steel: Industry

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress he has made on a steel sector deal; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Government remains committed to a strong steel industry. We are actively working with UK Steel to pursue a sector deal whilst in parallel also discussing the investment plans of individual companies to enable them to secure a sustainable future. We have commissioned independent research which has identified future domestic market opportunities for the UK steel sector worth an additional £3.8 billion per year by 2030. We are actively encouraging the UK steel sector to come forward with their plans to exploit these opportunities and improve their competitiveness. . We will continue to work closely with the sector, their supply chain, the trade unions, and the devolved administrations.

Radioactive Waste: Irish Sea

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to provide alternatives to the disposal of nuclear waste into the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: The UK Government’s policy is to manage nuclear waste through responsible storage and disposal to permitted facilities on land, not disposal into the sea.Disposal of nuclear waste into the sea from vessels is prohibited under the London Convention.As a party to the OSPAR Convention, the UK has committed to reduce liquid radioactive discharges to the marine environment by nuclear site operators. These discharges are tightly regulated and discharge levels are low. A review of the UK’s Radioactive Discharges Strategy, published in June this year, shows that the UK is meeting its international commitments with significant reductions in discharges.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Bangladesh: Roads

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the recent treatment of road safety protesters by the Bangladeshi authorities in Dhaka.

Mark Field: I was deeply concerned by the violence we saw in Dhaka in response to protests on road-safety this summer. In a statement on 7 August, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Alison Blake, together with other EU Heads of Mission, called on the Government of Bangladesh to investigate incidents of unlawful or disproportionate violence against road safety protestors and journalists and hold the perpetrators to account. Subsequently, Joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development Minister Alistair Burt expressed our concern regarding the response to the road safety protests with the Government of Bangladesh, during his visit to Bangladesh from 28-31 August.Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review and we continue to encourage the Government of Bangladesh to work with Bangladeshi Civil Society to address their concerns regarding freedom of expression.

Bangladesh: Roads

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Bangladeshi Government on the recent treatment of road safety protesters in Bangladesh.

Mark Field: I was deeply concerned by the violence we saw in Dhaka in response to protests on road-safety this summer. In a statement on 7 August, the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Alison Blake, together with other EU Heads of Mission, called on the Government of Bangladesh to investigate incidents of unlawful or disproportionate violence against road safety protestors and journalists and hold the perpetrators to account. Subsequently, Joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development Minister Alistair Burt expressed our concern regarding the response to the road safety protests with the Government of Bangladesh, during his visit to Bangladesh from 28-31 August.Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review and we continue to encourage the Government of Bangladesh to work with Bangladeshi Civil Society to address their concerns regarding freedom of expression.

Bangladesh: Elections and Freedom of Expression

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Bangladeshi Government on the restrictions to free speech enacted by that country's Digital Security Act and the effect of that Act on free and fair elections in that country.

Mark Field: I remain very concerned by continuing restrictions on freedom of expression in Bangladesh. The Digital Security Act has attracted significant Civil Society and media criticism in Bangladesh, including for the vagueness of its text, which they fear could be used to prosecute a range of behaviours, and for its harsh sentences. On 27 September, the UK, along with other EU Missions in Dhaka, issued a statement raising concerns that the Act could undermine freedom of expression. Subsequently, the Acting High Commissioner met the Bangladeshi Information Minister on 9 October to emphasise our concerns. Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review.I am clear that the UK wants to see a free, fair and pluralistic general election in Bangladesh, and continuing restrictions on freedom of expression will have a negative impact on that election. I have consistently encouraged the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to this end. I made these points to senior members of the Government of Bangladesh, including State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, and members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party during my visit to Bangladesh from 29 June to 1 July this year. The Foreign Secretary made these points to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met on 24 September at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Shahidul Alam

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the safe release of the photographer Shahidul Alam from prison in Bangladesh.

Mark Field: I was deeply concerned by the violence we saw in Dhaka in response to road safety protests by students following the tragic deaths of two school age students on 29 July, and the subsequent arrest of Shahidul Alam. Joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development Minister Alistair Burt expressed UK concern regarding the response to the road safety protests, and raised Dr Alam's case, with the Government of Bangladesh, during his visit to Bangladesh from 28-31 August. The Foreign Secretary raised Dr Alam's case with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met on 24 September at the UN General Assembley in New York.Bangladesh remains a Human Rights Priority Country for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We raised freedom of expression as a key concern in Bangladesh during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

Sir Alan Duncan: The model (standard) Foreign and Commonwealth Office contract terms and conditions contain clauses to protect confidentiality and ensure protection of sensitive data . They do not contain any gagging clauses and we have no record of any contracts containing them.

Bangladesh: Elections

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of electronic voting on voter fraud in the upcoming election in Bangladesh.

Mark Field: The UK Government has consistently made a clear desire to see a free, fair and pluralistic general election in Bangladesh. I have consistently encouraged the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to this end. Dialogue should address concerns regarding the use of electronic voting machines and the potential for voter fraud. I made clear my concerns regarding the election to senior members of the Government of Bangladesh, including State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, and members of the opposition Bangladesh National Party, during my visit to Bangladesh 29 June - 1 July. The Foreign Secretary underlined the importance of free, fair and non-violent elections in Bangladesh with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met on 24 September at the UN General Assembley in New York.

Bangladesh: Elections and Political Activities

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) free and fair elections and (b) political activism in Bangladesh.

Mark Field: I have consistently made it clear that the UK wants to see a free, fair and pluralistic general election in Bangladesh, and we have consistently encouraged the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to this end. I made these points to senior members of the Government of Bangladesh, including State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, and members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party during my visit to Bangladesh from 29 June - 1 July. The Foreign Secretary also made these points to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met on 24 September at the UN General Assembly in New York.The UK is active in supporting civil society and greater political participation in Bangladesh. We sponsor a range of project work through the £16.2 million DFID Strengthening Political Participation Phase Two programme. The programme includes work with the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre designed to empower Bangladeshi youth to take a more active role in politics, and a Capable Media for Strong Democracy project to build the capability of Bangladesh's media in achieving objective media reporting. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also supports Article 19, an NGO supporting freedom of expression internationally, to monitor freedom of expression in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Bangladeshi counterpart on proposals to move Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char island.

Mark Field: ​I discussed the Government of Bangladesh's proposal to move Rohingya refugees from camps in Cox's Bazar to Bhashan Char island with State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam, during my visit to Bangladesh from 29 June - 1 July. We have asked the Government of Bangladesh to allow for a United Nations technical assessment to assess the viability of the island. I am clear that any relocation of refugees must be safe, dignified and in accordance with international humanitarian principles, standards and laws.

Turkey: Kurds

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on Turkish military action towards Kurdish groups in Syria; and what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on the conduct of those actions.

Sir Alan Duncan: We continue to follow the situation in northern Syria closely. We discuss these issues with the Turkish government, and regularly review information and reporting from UN agencies and NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to inform our assessments. We have urged the necessity of protecting the rights of the Kurdish inhabitants of the area, and raise concerns with Turkey where we have credible evidence.

Syria: Russia

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether new sanctions against Russian entities in relation to Syria have been put in place since 20 April 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: No new sanctions have been put in place against Russian entities in relation to Syria since 20 April 2018. The EU maintains robust sanctions against the Assad regime to limit its ability to wage war on the Syrian population and encourage meaningful engagement with the UN-led political process.

National Cyber Security Centre: Vacancies

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many vacancies there in the National Cyber Security Centre.

Sir Alan Duncan: The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was established formally on 3 October 2016. At that time, the NCSC had a team of approximately 700 people. For reasons of National Security, we will not disclose further information on staff numbers and vacancies.

Cabinet Office

Public Sector: Procurement

Jim McMahon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to ask what steps his department has taken to ensure that central government Departments take account of social economic value under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in public procurement.

Oliver Dowden: Central Government contracting authorities conducting major construction and infrastructure projects with a contract value exceeding £10 million are required to adopt the Growth Balanced Scorecard. The scorecard guides public procurers in balancing more straightforward matters such as cost, against more complex issues such as social and wider economic considerations when designing their procurement approaches. Following on from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s speech to the Reform conference on 25 June 2018, the Cabinet Office is currently leading work with DCMS to implement a package of measures for the future of social value and procurement. This includes training for government commercial staff to ensure that all major procurements in central government explicitly evaluate and report on their social and economic value. Further information will be published in due course.

Civil Service: Labour Turnover

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to improve staff retention in the civil service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: The Government is committed to attracting and retaining the best talent for the Civil Service, across all regions of the UK. The Places for Growth Programme will move Civil Service roles and public bodies outside of London and the South East of England to cities across the UK in line with the Industrial Strategy and Civil Service Estates Strategy. The Programme is bringing together central government units and other departments to work together to develop a comprehensive, evidence-based workforce and place-based strategy for locations around the UK including Birmingham and the West Midlands. We are developing career pathways for professions across the Civil Service, which enable civil servants to build a common understanding of skills and experience needed at each level, exposing them to the right opportunities to build a successful career in the Civil Service.

Cabinet Office: Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by his Department in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: Cabinet Office does not record or collate information on staff in receipt of universal credit.

Government Departments: Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequecy, effectivness and efficency of the Government's division of responsibility on cyber related matters across Government Departments.

Mr David Lidington: There are clear lines of accountability in relation to government cyber security. Each department, agency or public body is responsible for managing the cyber security of its own organisation. This is subject to regular assessment by the Cabinet Secretary.

Government Departments: Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assesment he has made of the adequecy of the current number of cyber specialists working in Government.

Mr David Lidington: Like many UK sectors the Government struggles to retain sufficient numbers of cyber specialists. Through the Transforming Government Security Programme and establishment of a government security profession, the Cabinet Office is developing a compelling career offer for cyber professionals against an agreed Professional Framework for security to be published in 2019.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce geographical variation in (a) funding and (b) performance between and within Cancer Alliances.

Steve Brine: In 2018/19, the National Cancer Programme established the National Support Fund for Cancer Alliances. The purpose of the National Support Fund is to address geographical variation in the transformation funding bids submitted by Cancer Alliances in 2017/18. The Fund is being used by Cancer Alliances to:- improve, and sustain, performance against the 62-day cancer waiting-time standard; and- underpin delivery of the relevant 2018/19 Planning Guidance priorities in a consistent way across the country. Alongside this, NHS England is providing an additional £10 million this financial year to improve and reduce variation in operational performance. This work will focus on:- a nationwide initiative (particularly focused on urology) to grow capacity and support improvement activity across the county; and- engaging with especially challenged areas to diagnose the root causes of their poor performance and to implement actions enabling the better management of additional patient demand.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the NICE appraisal methodology to take account of current challenges to combination treatments under the renegotiation of the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes it uses in the development of its recommendations and guidance. NICE has been able to recommend a number of combination treatments for use on the National Health Service through its technology appraisal programme.The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the NHS can afford. Whilst the formal negotiations are confidential, discussions on a branded medicines voluntary agreement for 2019 onwards are ongoing and are constructive.

Health Services: Immigrants

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 October 2018 on Immigration Health Surcharge, whether his Department has plans to publish the review of the evidence on the average cost to the NHS of treating surcharge payers.

Stephen Barclay: The Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2018 was introduced in Parliament on Thursday 11 October 2018 alongside a published impact assessment which is available at the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2018/9780111172995

General Practitioners: Data Protection

Faisal Rashid: ‘To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many subject access requests have been made to GP surgeries since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Smoking: Health Education

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many sites providing NHS stop smoking services have (a) closed and (b) stopped providing such services by local authority in each year since 2010-11.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not held centrally.

Smoking

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the smoking quit rate was for (a) BAME communities, (b) people living with mental health conditions and (c) people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in each financial year since 2010-11.

Steve Brine: The following table shows the smoking prevalence in adults who are now ex-smokers, by ethnic group in England for the years 2011 to 2017. Data is not available prior to 2011 for this request.Smoking prevalence in adults- England – Ex-smokersYearEthnic group (%)MixedAsianBlackChineseOtherUnknownWhite201719.48.312.29.314.928.828.4201617.28.411.48.313.827.328.6201530.112.115.911.619.926.737.2201427.911.816.414.219.928.037.2201326.811.717.115.919.137.436.4201231.211.516.611.620.128.736.2201127.911.216.114.218.642.836.3Source: Local Tobacco Control Profiles – Adult Population SurveyThe information requested on people living with mental health conditions and people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not held centrally.

Smoking

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the smoking quit rate for people earning (a) £10,000 per annum or less, (b) £10,001 to £20,000 per annum, (c) £20,001 to £30,000 per annum, (d) £30,001 to £40,000 per annum and (e) £40,001 per annum and over in England in each financial year since 2010-11.

Steve Brine: The following table shows the proportion of those who said that they do not smoke cigarettes nowadays, but who have smoked cigarettes regularly in the past, by income per year in England for the years 2014 to 2017.¹Data is not available prior to 2014 for this request. YearGross Annual Personal Income²Up to £9,9993£10,000 - £14,999£15,000- £19,999£20,000 - £29,999£30,000 - £39,999.£40,000 or more201422.226.525.822.022.723.9201523.427.621.323.124.624.4201624.426.124.825.527.429.2201724.026.622.027.126.326.6   Weighted base 2017 (000’s)43,9353,2022,1343,2421,6192,252Unweighted sample 2017623527334463230279 Notes:¹The group 'ex-smoker' contains those who said that they do not smoke cigarettes nowadays, but who have smoked cigarettes regularly in the past.²Gross annual personal income includes all personal income before deductions.3 The ‘up to £9,999’ group does not include people with no personal income.4 Weighted bases are given to the nearest thousand.Source: Opinions and Lifestyle Survey – Office for National Statistics

Smoking

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the smoking prevalence for people earning (a) £10,000 per annum or less, (b) £10,001 to £20,000 per annum, c) £20,001 to £30,000 per annum, d) £30,001 to £40,000 per annum and e) £40,001 and over in England in each financial year since 2010-11.

Steve Brine: The following table shows the proportion of cigarette smokers, by income per year in England for the years 2014 to 2017. ¹Data is not available prior to 2014 for this request.PercentagesYearGross Annual Personal Income¹Up to £9,999²£10,000 - £14,999p.a.£15,000- £19,999p.a.£20,000 - £29,999p.a.£30,000 - £39,999p.a.£40,000 or more201422.022.821.517.014.510.5201521.421.220.517.613.711.6201619.018.518.215.012.210.5201718.819.018.618.015.410.3   Weighted base 2017 (000’s)³9,1797,0185,2527,1853,8796,098Unweighted sample 20171,2941,071750991524754 Notes: ¹Gross annual personal income include all personal income before deductions for tax, National Insurance etc. it relates to money that is directly received as pay or benefits, and does not include pay or benefits received through a 3rd party (such as a spouse or partner).²The ‘up to £9,999’ group does not include people with no personal income.³Weighted bases are given to the nearest thousand. Source: Opinions and Lifestyle Survey – Office for National Statistics

Smoking

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the smoking prevalence for (a) pregnant women, (b) people with mental health conditions, (c) people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (d) BAME communities in (i) England and (ii) each local authority in England in each financial year since 2010-11.

Steve Brine: The most recent data for smoking prevalence in pregnant women in England is 10.8% for 2017/18. The following table details the annual rate of maternal smoking for England for financial years 2010/11 to 2017/18.  Women known to be smokers at time of deliveryYearNumber of maternitiesNumberPercentage95% confidence interval2010/11659,54389,21113.713.6- 13.72011/12664,69187,64013.313.2 – 13.42012/13658,11283,48712.912.8 – 12.92013/14632,95675,91312.212.1 – 12.22014/15622,64370,87911.711.7 – 11.82015/16631,22567,19511.010.9 – 11.12016/17619,23465,02310.710.6 – 10.82017/18607,29464,39110.810.7 – 10.9Source: NHS Digital: Statistics on Women’s Smoking Status at Time of Delivery, England – Quarter 4, 2017-18 NHS Digital publish quarterly reports on Smoking Status at time of delivery. As this is an National Health Service data-set, the figures are not available at Local Authority level, but at clinical commissioning group (CCG) level. The latest figures for CCGs and previous financial quarters/years can be found in the NHS Digital Report: Statistics on Women’s Smoking Status at Time of Delivery: England. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-women-s-smoking-status-at-time-of-delivery-england The most recent data on Smoking prevalence in adults with serious mental illness, in England is 40.5% for the 2014/15 financial year. The attached tables show Smoking prevalence in adults with serious mental illness by region and local authorities 2014/15. The information requested on smoking prevalence for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not held centrally. Smoking prevalence for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities is only available for England, the information is detailed in the following table. Smoking prevalence in Adults- Current smokers, England.YearEthnic group (%)MixedAsianBlackChineseOtherUnknownWhite201720.59.310.48.616.59.515.4201620.89.410.37.414.61316.2201522.41011.312.216.71917.6201424.410.813.510.916.815.318.5201325.510.8121016.31619.2201224.910.81311.518.323.520.1201126.311.713.213.519.318.320.6Source: Local Tobacco Control Profiles – Adult Population Survey



PQ180202 attached table
(Word Document, 18.05 KB)

Smoking: Health Education

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of funding for smoking cessation services on health inequalities.

Steve Brine: Smoking rates vary considerably across the country and local authorities are best-place to take decisions about the services required to meet the needs of their populations.

Smoking: Health Education

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Public Health England's document, Stop smoking options: guidance for conversations with patients, published on 20 August 2018, what evidence Public Health England assessed to inform its recommendation that E-cigarettes can help people quit smoking, with similar or better results than NRT.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) referenced two papers in the guidance that helped inform its recommendation. They were: - ‘Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation: a randomised controlled trial’ by Bullen and others. - ‘Real‐world effectiveness of e‐cigarettes when used to aid smoking cessation: a cross‐sectional population study’ by Brown and others. PHE’s recommendation is also supported by evidence from local stop smoking services in England, where people using e-cigarettes and stop smoking medicines consecutively have the highest rates of success, with 75% quitting successfully compared to 50% for those using medicines alone.

Pneumococcal Diseases: Vaccination

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has made of the potential change in the number of cases of pneumococcal disease that will result from its advice to reduce a dose in the national infant pneumococcal programme from a 2+1 to a 1+1 schedule; and if he will publish the modelling used for that estimate.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will publish the modelling and methodology used to support its view that there will be a small increase in cases of pneumococcal disease resulting from reducing a dose in the national infant pneumococcal programme; and how many additional cases of pneumococcal disease that committee considers acceptable.

Steve Brine: The modelling prepared by Public Health England which supported the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommendation to move to a 1+1 schedule for Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine will be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal in 2018. The modelling paper will include all relevant estimates around the expected number of cases following the recommended change to the schedule.

Public Health: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will reverse the recent reduction in public health grants to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will reverse the reductions made to local authority public health budgets since 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Indicative local authority public health grant allocations for 2019/20 are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2018-to-2019Future funding for local authorities’ public health responsibilities will be a matter for the next Spending Review.

Health Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the services directly commissioned by NHS England.

Steve Brine: NHS England directly commissions the following services:- Military and veteran health services;- Health services for people in prisons (including youth offender institutions);- Primary care services, although for general practitioners this is devolved to most clinical commissioning groups through primary care co-commissioning; and- Specialised services. A list of the specialised services is attached. NHS England also directly commissions the following public health services:- Neonatal hepatitis B immunisation;- Maternal Pertussis immunisation;- Bacillus Calmette–Guéri vaccine (against tuberculosis and leprosy);- Diptheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, pertussis, haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B immunisation;- Rotavirus immunisation;- Meningococcal C containing vaccine immunisation;- Haemophilus influenzae type B immunisation;- Pneumococcal immunisation;- Measles, mumps and rubella immunisation;- Human papillomavirus immunisation;- Td/IPV vaccination (3-in-1 teenage booster);- Seasonal influenza immunisation;- Seasonal influenza immunisation for children;- Shingles immunisation;- NHS infectious diseases in pregnancy screening;- NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme - Screening for Down’s Syndrome, Edwards’ Syndrome and Patau’s Syndrome;- NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme – 18+0 to 20+6 week fetal anomaly scan;- NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening;- NHS Newborn Blood Spot Screening;- NHS Newborn Hearing Screening;- NHS Newborn and Infant Physical Examination Screening;- NHS Diabetic eye screening;- NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm;- Breast screening;- Cervical screening;- Bowel cancer screening;- NHS bowel scope screening;- Child Health Information Systems;- Services for children and adults in secure and detained settings in England;- Sexual assault referral centres;- Meningococcal group B immunisation; and- Human papillomavirus immunisation programme for men who have sex with men.



PQ180233 attached document
(PDF Document, 187.68 KB)

Hospitals: Domestic Visits

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which hospitals he has visited since taking his position.

Caroline Dinenage: A list of visits made by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since taking his position is shown in the following table. National Health Service organisations visitedWest Suffolk HospitalNorthumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation TrustChelsea and Westminster HospitalSalford Royal HospitalSouthmead HospitalDerriford HospitalOttery HospitalBirmingham Children’s HospitalAddenbrooke’s HospitalMidland Metropolitan HospitalLeeds Teaching HospitalLeeds General InfirmaryPilgrim Boston Hospital

Drugs

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the number of pharmaceutical companies that have not agreed to stockpile medicines in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2018 to Question 176274 on Drugs, when the Government plans to complete its consideration of the support that may be provided to suppliers in relation to the stockpiling of medicines; for what reasons that process was not completed before the Government advised suppliers to increase their stockpile of medicines; what assessment he has made of the effect on the supply of drugs of not providing that support; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: Since writing to pharmaceutical companies in August, we have received very good engagement from industry, who share our aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients across the United Kingdom. The Department continues to work closely with these companies to ensure that their UK stockpiles of medicines are sufficient to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term from the event of a no-deal Brexit. In our letter to industry, the Government committed to considering what support to UK medicines suppliers we might provide as part of our European Union exit no-deal contingency programme and we will make an assessment of what that support might include when we have heard back from all the companies we wrote to in relation to their stockpiling or alternative contingency plans.

Prescription Drugs

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the views, experiences and opinions of individual professionals, researchers, commentators or patients will not be able to be included in his Department's, Prescribed medicines: an evidence review, published on 23 July 2018.

Steve Brine: The review is a public health evidence review of the published evidence and available data. This process is distinct from a public inquiry, which would include individual testimony.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the data used by his Department to estimate the level of demand for mental health services by young people.

Matt Hancock: NHS Digital have two sources of information which can potentially be used to understand the need and demand for children and young people’s mental health services; the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS), and the Mental Health of Children and Young People survey series. The most comprehensive assessment of the quality of MHSDS data is available within the 2016/17 NHS Digital Mental Health Bulletin publication available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-bulletin/mental-health-bulletin-2016-17-annual-report A limitation in understanding current demand and need for children and young people’s mental health services is the length of time since the last survey of children and young people’s mental health was completed in 2004. An updated prevalence survey of Children and Young People’s Mental Health will be published on 22 November 2018.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether all patients with health conditions previously determined by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to benefit from the use of cannabis will automatically qualify for prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.

Steve Brine: Subject to Parliamentary approval, from 1 November doctors on the General Medical Council’s specialist register can make the decision to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use where deemed clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients. Prescribers will need to follow local governance procedures for prescribing unlicensed medicines. The regulations do not limit the types of conditions that can be considered for treatment and will only be able to be supplied under the prescription or direction of a specialist doctor.

Neurology: Consultants

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the number of neurology consultants.

Stephen Barclay: National Health Service workforce statistics published by NHS Digital show that the full time equivalent number of consultant neurologists employed by the NHS in England has increased by 45% between September 2010 and June 2018 (latest published data):  Neurology ConsultantsSeptember 2010536September 2011550September 2012584September 2013616September 2014647September 2015672September 2016732September 2017766June 2018776Source: NHS Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) monthly workforce statistics, NHS Digital Responsibility for staffing levels, including the number of consultant posts, rests with individual NHS trusts and their boards who are best placed to decide how many staff they need to provide a given service.

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on the health and social care sectors in each nation of the UK of the UK leaving the EU.

Stephen Barclay: We are committed to securing a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom - for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. The Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department of Health and Social Care regularly engage with the devolved administrations to update them on the negotiations.

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in each of the devolved administrations on his Department's assessment of the effect on the health and social care sector in each nation of the UK of the UK leaving the EU.

Stephen Barclay: Department for Exiting the European Union and Department of Health and Social Care Ministers speak regularly with Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh governments to update them on the negotiations, including through the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations. Close cooperation between the United Kingdom Government and the devolved administrations remains essential to delivering an exit that works for all parts of the UK.

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department consulted health and social care service providers on the effect on those sectors (a) throughout the UK and (b) in each of the four nations of the UK of leaving the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The Department has regular conversations with health and social care providers as well as with the devolved administrations to ensure an exit is delivered which works for the health and social care sector throughout the entire United Kingdom.

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has consulted people who require health and social care services on the impact on those sectors (a) throughout the UK and (b) in each of the four nations of the UK of leaving the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The Department has regular conversations with health and social care providers and users as well as with the devolved administrations to ensure an exit is delivered which works for the health and social care sector throughout the entire United Kingdom.

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department consulted organisations working for and on behalf of individuals who require health and social care services on the effect on those sectors (a) throughout the UK and (b) in each of the four nations of the UK of leaving the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The Department has regular conversations with health and social care organisations such as charities and patient advocacy groups as well as with the devolved administrations to ensure an exit is delivered which works for the health and social care sector throughout the entire United Kingdom.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nationals from other EU countries are employed in the NHS.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what change there has been in the number of nationals from other EU countries working in the NHS in the last two years.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics for England. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the number of non-United Kingdom European Union nationals that are employed in the NHS in England as at 30 September in the past two years and latest month available. The number of non-UK EU nationals increased by 4,367 (5.5%) between Sept 2016 and June 2018.  September 2016September 201730 June 2018Number of other EU nationals employed by the NHS (headcount)59,79661,97463,065Source: NHS Digital Quarterly HCHS workforce statistics. The NHS in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved governments.

Drugs

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Ministers in each of the devolved administrations to ensure the adequacy of supply of medicines throughout the UK after the UK has left the EU.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has undertaken a risk assessment of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the population’s health and wellbeing in the event that there are shortages or disruptions to the supply of medicines after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The Government’s no-deal European Union exit contingency planning covers the entire United Kingdom and has been developed in partnership with the devolved administrations and local National Health Service colleagues. The Department will continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations towards achieving our objective of ensuring a seamless supply to patients throughout the UK should we leave the EU without a deal next March, to ensure a UK-wide, cross-Government approach to our planning. Earlier this year, the Department undertook an analysis using Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and European Medicines Agency data on the supply chain for all medicines. This identified those products coming to the UK from or via the EU or wider EEA countries. We wrote to pharmaceutical companies on 23 August setting out our contingency planning and our aim of ensuring continuity of medicines supple for patients across the UK. We have received very good engagement from the industry in response to our letters. The Department continues to work closely with these companies to ensure that their UK stockpiles of medicines are sufficient to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in event of a no-deal EU exit.

Health Services and Social Services: Vacancies

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of vacancies in the health and social care sectors across the UK; and how many such vacancies there are in each of the four nations.

Stephen Barclay: Information is not held centrally on the number of vacancies in the health and social care sectors across the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

NHS: Standards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the promises and pledges set out in the NHS Constitution on waiting times are met.

Stephen Barclay: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England for 2018-19 is clear that it is to maintain and improve performance against core patient access standards including accident and emergency, cancer and planned operations and care. The Government expects the National Health Service to deliver the actions set out in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2018-19 in full, as key steps towards fully recovering performance against core access standards. We gave the NHS top priority in the 2017 budget with an additional £2.8 billion of funding for the NHS between 2017-18 and 2019-20, and this was reflected in the mandate. To provide the NHS with further financial stability, the longer-term plan will increase NHS funding by £20.5 billion per year by 2023/24, the end of the first five years, compared with today.

Midwives

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile was of midwives working in the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile was of nurses working in the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care or in general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers. The following table shows the number of registered midwives by five-year age band in National Health Service trusts and CCGs in England as at 30 September of each specified year and the latest data available, headcount: 2014201520162017June 2018England25,33325,41825,46625,70426,062  Under 251,1591,1561,1491,1941,34225 to 292,6772,9493,2053,4253,47330 to 342,8922,9093,0073,1753,36335 to 392,8803,0463,1473,2703,33740 to 443,1593,0593,0042,9633,00545 to 494,4253,9953,6223,3413,19550 to 544,6114,6644,5854,4594,29855 to 592,5192,5582,6562,7312,83460 to 648358939169871,04565 and over176189175159170Source: NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics, NHS Digital The following table shows the number of qualified nurses and health visitors by five-year age band in NHS trusts and CCGs in England as at 30 September of each specified year and the latest data available, headcount:  2014201520162017June 2018England312,176314,966318,104317,980317,884  Under 2514,54215,70415,58114,01712,86525 to 2932,20735,23338,47239,42539,14030 to 3432,12932,52433,63435,55137,36935 to 3941,83740,08638,39136,99736,12240 to 4448,88848,33247,49445,98244,65045 to 4950,78148,96548,02047,80047,80450 to 5449,44749,87750,11549,51848,88155 to 5929,39030,53231,60532,55733,51860 to 6410,54511,16112,16713,34814,58165 and over2,4102,5522,6252,7852,954Source: NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics, NHS Digital

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111406 on Prescriptions: Fees and Charges, how many penalty charges have been issued in respect of wrongly claimed NHS prescriptions in each month since September 2017 for which figures are available.

Steve Brine: The following table shows the number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued from October 2017 to September 2018.MonthTotal PCNs IssuedOctober 2017106,249November 2017105,884December 201747,982January 201890,075February 2018110,014March 2018110,013April 2018116,518May 2018109,339June 201893,243July 2018124,245August 2018121,775September 2018119,466Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Health Services: Social Services

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether assessments made by his Department of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the health and social care sectors on (a) the UK and (b) each of the four nations of the UK have been shared with the relevant Ministers in those administrations.

Stephen Barclay: We are committed to securing a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom - for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Department for Exiting the European Union Ministers engage regularly with Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh governments to update them on the negotiations, including through the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations.

Medical Equipment: UK Trade with EU

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that there will be no disruption to the procurement of medical devices after the UK has left the EU.

Stephen Barclay: The United Kingdom’s priority is to ensure that public procurement continues to function as smoothly as possible, avoiding disruption to public procurement markets for the benefit of suppliers and procurers. The existing scheme of UK procurement rules, which implement the European Union public procurement directives, are preserved under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 when the UK leaves the European Union, with relevant adjustments necessary to ensure legal operability. This will give legal certainty and continuity to businesses, contracting authorities, and employees, on day one of Exit. On 13 September 2018, Cabinet Office published guidance titled ‘Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal’, which can be found on the Cabinet Office website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessing-public-sector-contracts-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/accessing-public-sector-contracts-if-theres-no-brexit-deal#before-29-march-2019

Breast Cancer

Craig Tracey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS Long-Term Plan will ensure that every patient with secondary breast cancer has access to a tailored health and wellbeing event that includes psychological support and opportunities to meet other people with secondary breast cancer.

Steve Brine: We are committed to rolling out the recovery package to every cancer patient by 2020. The recovery package is a set of four interventions designed to help patients and clinicians assess a patient’s holistic needs and plan appropriately for their care and support, and includes a health and wellbeing event – or similar – empowering patients to independently manage their own health, with advice and support. The National Health Service Long Term Plan provides an excellent opportunity to look at how cancer and other services can be further improved over the next decade. The plan is currently in development and will be published later in the year.

Obesity: Children

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the measurement for assessing whether a child aged between two and 15 years is classified as obese has changed in the last 10 years.

Steve Brine: Body Mass Index thresholds for defining underweight, overweight and obesity in children aged 2-18 years have not changed since they were originally introduced in the 1990s.

Health: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report entitled Child health in 2030 in England: comparisons with other wealthy countries, published in October 2018 what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report; and what steps he plans to take to prevent the negative health outcomes for children and young people by 2030 that are projected within that report.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report entitled Child health in 2030 in England: comparisons with other wealthy countries, published in October 2018, what plans his Department has to reduce the infant mortality rate in England as a result of the findings of that report.

Matt Hancock: Improving children’s mental and physical health is a top priority for this Government and will be pivotal in our long-term plan for the National Health Service, which we are backing with additional funding of an extra £20.5 billion a year by 2023/24. This follows the existing National Maternity Safety Ambition to halve the 2010 rates of neonatal deaths (as well as stillbirths, maternal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth) by 2025, and to achieve a 20% reduction in these rates by 2020. Achieving this ambition would place the United Kingdom amongst other high-income countries with the lowest stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates.

Department for International Development

Africa: Guinea Worm

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department has allocated to programmes to eradicate the Guinea worm in (a) Ethiopia, (b) South Sudan, (c) Mali, (d) Chad and (e) other African countries.

Alistair Burt: The UK provided a total of £39.5m in funding to the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme between 2009 and 2018. Funding allocations to countries were flexible to allow scale up or down as required. Between 2015 and 2018, of a total of £9.5 million, the estimated breakdown of spending by country was:£1.235 million in Ethiopia;£4.75 million in South Sudan;£0.285 million in Mali;£1.71 million in Chad; and£1.52 million in non-country specific spending.

Africa: Guinea Worm

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made in collaboration with other countries on the eradication of the Guinea worm.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government – in collaboration with the Carter Center, the World Health Organisation, and endemic countries – has contributed to a decline in Guinea worm cases from 3.5 million in 1986 to 30 cases in 2017.

Overseas Aid: Wales

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the amount of funding allocated to UK-based organisations spent on (a) overseas aid and (b) administrative costs within Wales in the last five years.

Alistair Burt: UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) data is collected and reported according to a standard international classification produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Following this classification, the amount of UK ODA delivered by UK and other donor country NGOs in the last five years[1] is: 20122013201420152016Net ODA£488m£662m£759m£772m£710mThe latest data is for calendar year 2016 and figures for 2017 will be published this autumn.ODA flows are provided by official agencies and their executive agencies. The amount of UK ODA provided by the Welsh Government and delivered by donor-based NGOs is: 20122013201420152016Net ODA£1m£1m£1m£1m£1mSource: Statistics on International DevelopmentThe information for (b) is not held in the form requested and can only be collated at disproportionate cost. [1] Donor-based NGOs cover UK based NGOs as well as the NGOs of other donors. The figures included above will mainly consist of UK based NGOs however there are some amounts included for other donor NGOs delivering UK ODA, such as UK contributions to the Norway-based, Norwegian Refugee Council.

Burma: Humanitarian Aid

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian assistance her Department is providing to internally displaced people in (a) Kachin State and (b) Shan State.

Alistair Burt: We are deeply concerned by continued reports of violence in Kachin and northern Shan States, which has led to a further 8,000 people being displaced since February 2018. DFID is providing humanitarian support to displaced populations. In the last financial year, DFID spent £6.1 million on humanitarian assistance for conflict affected people in Kachin and Northern Shan states. We continue to raise our concerns with both military and civilian Ministers in the Government of Burma.

Department for Education

Collective Spirit Free School Oldham

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there is a timetable to return the former Collective Spirit Free School site to Oldham Council.

Nadhim Zahawi: We are currently assessing a number of options for the future use of the Collective Spirit Free School site in Oldham. We continue to work towards a solution with local partners and intend to resolve the future use of the site early in the New Year.

School Leaving: New Businesses

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage school leavers to start up their own business ventures.

Anne Milton: The Business GCSE (first taught from 2017) should help pupils to become commercially minded and enterprising. Financial literacy is statutory within the national curriculum as part of Citizenship for 11 to 16 year olds. Schools are also free to cover enterprise education within personal, social, health and economic education. Personal characteristics like resilience and problem-solving are crucial for setting up a business. Good schools offer a range of opportunities for pupils to develop these attributes through activities such as debating, sport, volunteering, the National Citizen Service or the Cadets.The government’s careers strategy for England, published in December 2017, aims to give young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to learn from employers about work and entrepreneurship. It introduces a new expectation that every school should offer every young person at least seven encounters with employers, including those who are self-employed. Multiple encounters will inspire young people and give them the opportunity to learn about what work is like and what skills are important to successfully run a business and succeed in work.The Careers & Enterprise Company’s network of Enterprise Advisers of senior volunteers from business help schools and colleges to work with local businesses. Over 40 per cent of Enterprise Advisers come from businesses with less than 50 employees. Investment funding delivered by The Careers & Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges has already provided more than 540,000 employer encounters for young people in England. This funding scales up proven programmes with track records, for example Young Enterprise. A new £2.5 million employer encounters investment fund has been launched and activity in schools and colleges will start from January 2019.

Assessments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many examining boards are using the (a) A* to E and (b) numeral grading system.

Nick Gibb: There are four exam boards that offer GCSEs and A levels in England and Wales: AQA, Pearson, OCR, and WJEC. In Northern Ireland, GCSEs and A levels are also offered by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Exam boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland all use the A*-E grading scale for A level qualifications. For GCSE qualifications, the grade scale varies across the three countries. In England, the four exam boards are all using the 9-1 grading scale for reformed GCSEs as they are rolled out. Most GCSEs in Wales and Northern Ireland use an A*-G grading scale. A full explanation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-a-level-differences-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland/statement-from-the-qualification-regulators-on-changes-to-gcses-as-and-a-levels#availability-of-reformed-gcse-as-and-a-levels-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland.

Pupils: Absenteeism

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for taking their children out of school during term time in 2017.

Nick Gibb: The statistical publication “Parental Responsibility Measures in England: 2016 to 2017” includes the numbers of penalty notices issued in England in table 1. The release is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/parental-responsibility-measures-2016-to-2017-academic-year.The most recent figures cover the 2016/17 academic year.The Department collects and reports on parental responsibility measures information from schools in England only. Education statistics for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are available from the relevant departments.

Extracurricular Activities: Finance

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to increase funding for after school activities.

Nick Gibb: On 9 October 2017, the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the member for Putney, announced plans for a project to enable disadvantaged children and young people living in some of the most deprived parts of the country to participate in regular extra-curricular activities. This includes after school and holiday provision.The project involved £22 million of funding during the remainder of the Government’s current spending period to enable children and young people to develop essential life skills and to have the best start in life. It can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-launched-to-drive-social-mobility-in-opportunity-areas.The project, the Essential Life Skills programme, is making an important contribution to the Department’s vision for an education system that prepares young people for life in modern Britain, regardless of their background or where they live.The Essential Life Skills programme is targeting disadvantaged children aged 5 to 18 across 12 Opportunity Areas during academic years 2017-18 and 2018-19. Within each Opportunity Area, local authorities are receiving grants to develop their own Essential Life Skills programme to meet the needs of pupils and young people in their communities.Funding that schools receive, including the pupil premium, can be used in whichever ways are appropriate for their pupils within and after the school day. It is a matter for schools to decide how best to meet the needs of their pupils.

GCSE

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students resat their (a) maths and (b) English GCSEs in the academic year 2017-18.

Nick Gibb: The Department requires students who leave Key Stage 4 without a GCSE grade 4 or above in English and mathematics to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme. Students with prior attainment of grade 3 enrol on GCSE courses; students with prior attainment of a grade 2 or below can enrol in a range of stepping stone qualifications, including Functional Skills. It is up to providers to decide if and when students are ready to retake an examination. There is no requirement to repeatedly resit examinations. The number of students entered for an approved English GCSE (or equivalent) qualification in 2018 was 105,521; the number entered for an approved mathematics GCSE (or equivalent) qualification in 2018 was 136,204.[1] This information is available as part of the ‘A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2017 to 2018 (provisional)’ national statistics, which were released on the 16th October 2018. Students who are continuing to study English and mathematics who are not yet at the end of 16 to 18 study, or who had previously achieved a grade 4/C or above in these subjects, will not be included in these figures. [1] at the end of 16-18 study.

Teachers: Cheshire

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers were employed in primary schools in each parliamentary constituency in Cheshire West and Chester in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants were employed in primary schools in each parliamentary constituency in Cheshire West and Chester in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb: The attached table provides information for the full-time equivalent number of teachers and teaching assistants in service in state-funded nursery and primary schools in each parliamentary constituency within Cheshire West and Chester local authority, as well as in England, from November 2010 to November 2017.Comparable figures for parliamentary constituency and phase are only available for teaching assistants and teacher numbers from November 2010, when the annual ‘School Workforce Census’ was introduced. [1]The figures provided are publicly available in the underlying data files in the publication ‘School Workforce in England’. This is available at the following web link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce. The parliamentary constituencies provided are those that cover Cheshire West and Chester local authority. The schools in those constituencies that fall under Chester East and Halton local authorities have not been included in the figures. [1] The previous source was the ‘Form616g’ survey, which was based at local authority level only.



180230_180231_FTE_teachers_primary_Cheshire_West_C
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Apprentices: Skilled Workers

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support high-skilled apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: The government’s apprenticeship programme supports the development of the skilled workforce businesses need to make sure they are fit for the future.The apprenticeship reforms that were introduced in 2017 are putting employers in the driving seat and raising the quality of apprenticeships. Over 350 new employer-designed apprenticeship standards at all levels have now been approved, with more in development. The apprenticeship levy means that there is sustained investment in apprenticeship training. The annual apprenticeship budget will rise to £2.45 billion by 2020. We also provide generous co-funding for apprenticeship training for small and medium-sized enterprises, ensuring that all employers can make a sustainable investment in the skills they need to grow.These reforms are already raising the quality of apprenticeships. The proportion of people starting on new employer-designed standards is now over 40 per cent compared to just 2.5 per cent this time last year. In the same period, the average number of training hours per apprenticeship increased by 20 per cent. We have also seen a healthier balance of apprenticeships across all skill level. The numbers of apprenticeship starts at higher levels (level 4 and above) have risen by almost 13 per cent compared to the same point the previous year.

Pupils: Parents

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support offered to (a) primary and (b) secondary school students whose parents have serious health issues.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government is committed to supporting children and young people whose parents have serious health issues - to improve their own health and wellbeing, and to protect them from excessive or inappropriate caring responsibilities that can impact on their education. The Department for Education provides schools with £2.4 billion each year in additional funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils; each eligible pupil attracts £1,320 to primary schools and £935 to secondary schools. Eligibility for the pupil premium is based largely on children receiving or having previously received free school meals, where parents with serious health issues or disabilities may receive qualifying income-related benefits: some research with young carers aged 14-16 suggests that around 60% already attracted the pupil premium through their eligibility for free school meals. We expect schools to make effective use of their pupil premium budgets and do not tell them how to use the pupil premium; schools know their pupils best and will spend the grant according to meet pupil needs, which includes where needs are based on a parent’s health issues or disability. Schools are held to account for their use of the pupil premium through school inspection and information in performance tables. Most schools are required to publish details online about the use and impact of the funding. Beyond this, a wider programme of cross-government action to support those with caring responsibilities is set out in the ‘Carers Action Plan’, a two-year programme of tailored work to support unpaid carers of all ages: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carers-action-plan-2018-to-2020. Chapter three sets out the government’s action specifically to support young carers and includes plans to improve: identification of young carers; educational opportunities and outcomes; access to support and services; and transition for young adult carers. In assessing the situation facing young carers, in January 2017 the Department for Education published the omnibus survey report 'The Lives of Young Carers in England’: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-lives-of-young-carers-in-england. This was a significant piece of research carried out by the department in partnership with Loughborough University looking to improve understanding of the numbers and needs of young carers and their families.

Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to the National Retraining Scheme for each of the next five fiscal years; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Anne Milton: My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, recently announced £100 million of initial funding for the National Retraining Scheme (NRS). This funding will allow the roll-out of initial elements of the NRS and test what works to help adults reskill as the economy changes. Further details will be provided shortly.

Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to the National Retraining Scheme pilots in digital and construction skills has been spent.

Anne Milton: The government has committed £24 million to the CITB Construction Skills Fund. This fund will support and incentivise an employer-led approach to construction skills by funding on-site training hubs across England. Funding is due to begin shortly, with the first hubs being rolled out towards the end of the year. This employer-led approach to construction training will help deliver the local skills that firms need, while also meeting the national need for more skilled construction workers.As part of the 2017 Autumn Budget, the West Midlands Combined Authority was granted £5 million to support the recruitment of new construction training entrants to underpin the continued growth of the region’s construction industry. This funding, which is separate to the £24 million committed to the CITB Construction Skills Fund, commenced in July 2018 and it will conclude in 2021.Finally, the government has allocated £30 million to develop innovative ways to use education technology and artificial intelligence in education to deliver improved learning outcomes. This funding takes effect from the period 2019 to 2020 onwards and further details will be announced shortly. Evidence from these funds and pilots will inform the development of the National Retraining Scheme.

Training

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have benefited from the construction and digital skills pilots of the National Retraining Scheme.

Anne Milton: Funding will commence shortly for the Construction Skills fund. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is delivering the Fund on behalf of the Department. CITB have committed to delivering at least 20 training hubs with at least 13,000 learners by March 2020. Funding for the West Midland Combined Authority construction pilot commenced in July 2018 and they have committed to training at least 2,280 new recruits over three years.The government has committed up to £30 million to develop innovative ways to use education technology and artificial intelligence in education to deliver improved learning outcomes. This funding takes effect from 2019-20 onwards and further details will be announced shortly.

Teachers: Pay

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the Government plans to allocate to non-academised sixth form colleges to assist with the increase of teachers' remuneration.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Teachers: Pay

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the total cost to sixth form colleges of the removal of the teachers pay cap.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Justice

Bedford Prison: Wellingborough Prison

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of closing HMP Bedford and transferring prisoners to HMP Wellingborough when it is operational.

Rory Stewart: The Government is committed to the modernisation of the prison estate. This will be achieved by delivering up to 10,000 modern, safe and decent prison places as previously announced, and the reconfiguration of the existing estate, providing the physical conditions for Governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes. The delivery of new places will enable the Prison Estate Transformation Programme to achieve a combination of replacing existing capacity and increasing current capacity so that we will be able to close the least fit for purpose prison accommodation while ensuring we continue to meet demand. Population and capacity of the prison estate is kept under careful review to ensure there is always sufficient capacity. Decisions on the size of the future prison estate will reflect the current and projected prison population, including an assessment of the necessary margin to manage population fluctuations. No decisions have been made about future prison closures (male or female) beyond those which have already been announced.

Prisons: Synthetic Cannabinoids

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what strategy his Department has to tackle the use of synthetic cannabinoids in prisons.

Rory Stewart: We have formed a Drugs Taskforce working with law enforcement and health partners across government to reduce substance misuse including psychoactive substances (PS) in prisons. The Taskforce is developing a Prison Drugs Strategy for publication this autumn which supports and complements the National Drugs Strategy published by the Home Office in 2017. Our approach is centred around the same three objectives: restricting supply, reducing demand and building recovery. We are supporting prisons in reducing all types of drug use, with a particular focus on PS and the unique challenges they bring. In September 2016, we became the first prison service in the world to introduce innovative mandatory drug tests for psychoactive substances, a significant step in tackling the supply and use of them. We have made it a criminal offence to possess psychoactive substances in prison and trained more than 300 sniffer dogs specifically to detect these drugs. We will shortly be providing guidance on how to counter the evolving methods used by suppliers such as impregnated paper. The creation of a new specialist Financial Crime Unit to identify and disrupt the organised crime gangs fuelling drug dealing in prisons was announced by the Secretary of State for Justice at the Conservative Party Conference. The unit is staffed by members of the Police and Prison Service and is able to freeze bank accounts linked to organised crime and to make arrests. This action will cut the supply of drugs to prisoners and prevent money reaching criminal kingpins. We are supporting Bim Afolami MP’s Private Member’s Bill on substance testing in prisons. This legislation will simplify and strengthen the drug testing framework, allowing us to test for all psychoactive substances, as well as prescription-only and pharmacy medicines, helping to identify where they are being abused.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to protect and support prison staff from abuse.

Rory Stewart: Our prison staff work incredibly hard and we are under no illusions about the challenges they face. We are taking urgent action to make prisons safer, and assaults on our hardworking staff will never be tolerated. That is why we are working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure successful prosecutions of those who assault them. It is also why the Government supported the recently passed Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act, which increases sentences for those who attack emergency workers, including prison officers. We are taking further measures to protect our staff, including investing in 5,600 body-worn cameras and in rigid-bar handcuffs. Early next year we will begin to equip every prison officer in the adult male prison estate with PAVA incapacitant spray. PAVA can help to prevent serious harm to staff and prisoners alike, as well as being a tool to persuade prisoners in the act of violence to stop. It will be deployed only in prisons that have rolled out the key worker scheme, and in which staff have been properly trained.

Prisoners: Mental Health Services

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support prisoners who have mental health issues; and whether his Department has plans to expand the provision of such support.

Rory Stewart: We take mental health issues very seriously and are committed to working closely with health partners to ensure that offenders are able to access the treatment and support required for their mental health needs. Providing the right interventions at the right time is vital to improving outcomes. Liaison & Diversion services place clinical staff at police stations and courts, to provide assessments and referrals to treatment and support. They also provide critical information to decision-makers in the justice system, so that decisions and sentences can be tailored to meet their needs. Liaison and Diversion services continue to be rolled out across England, and were at 82% at the end of March 2018. Full roll out is expected by 2020-21. For those in custody, NHS England are responsible for commissioning and delivering health services in prisons in England. In Wales, healthcare is devolved to the Welsh Government. However, we recognise the importance of the prison environment on enabling better health outcomes. To June 2018, we have recruited an additional 3,653 frontline prison officers who will help improve prison regimes and access to healthcare. This will also enable us to implement the key worker role, giving staff dedicated time to provide one-to-one support to individual prisoners and, for example, identify where mental health support may be needed. We are also working to improve prison staff training around mental health, including providing revised suicide and self-harm prevention training. Over 17,000 prison staff have completed at least one module of the revised suicide and self-harm prevention training. We are currently reviewing the mental health element of the Prison Officer Entry Level Training (POELT) to ensure it provides staff with the knowledge and confidence to recognise and respond appropriately to new or unreported mental health problems, or to recognise when existing problems are deteriorating. We have awarded grant of £500k a year, for the next three years, to the Samaritans to enable the continuation of their excellent Listeners Scheme.

Young Offenders: Prosecutions

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was between the arrest and sentencing of young offenders in (a) Dulwich and West Norwood constituency, (b) London and (c) England in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: A table is attached setting out the average number of days between arrest and completion for youth arrest criminal cases in South London Local Justice Area, London and England. Timeliness data is not published by constituency but can be broken down by Local Justice Area. Figures are only available from April 2010 so data for 2010 is presented for Q2 to Q4 only. Timeliness between arrest and completion can be influenced by a number of factors including changes in the offence mix in any one year, complexity of the case mix and Police and CPS investigations and charging processes.



Table 180270
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.93 KB)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Building Regulations

Mr John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of aesthetics of the built environment on people's quality of life.

Kit Malthouse: Within the Housing White paper, we made a commitment to building the right homes in the right places. Following this the revised National Planning Policy Framework states that “good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, and creates better places in which to live and work” and that new development should be “visually attractive as a result of good architecture, layout and appropriate and effective landscaping”.The Department has not carried out a systematic review of the impact of the aesthetics of the built environment on people’s quality of life. However, we are in the process of gathering evidence of good practice in relation to design quality, which we are sharing with the wider sector through events, such as the design quality conference that we hosted in April this year. I have also challenged the development community to consider whether they are building the conservation areas of the future.

Smoking: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on how much and what proportion of the Revenue Account Budget (a) in total and (b) per smoker was allocated to stop smoking services and interventions by each local authority in each financial year since 2010-11.

Rishi Sunak: MHCLG collects and publishes local authority expenditure data, and this includes a category on “Stop smoking services and interventions”. The data for this since 2010-11 for each local authority can be found in table RO3 among the individual local authority data tables at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing.Each local authority’s Revenue Account budgets and outturn expenditure can also be found from this page.The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of the numbers of smokers for each local authority level. This is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/datasets/smokinghabitsintheukanditsconstituentcountries.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to prevent conflicts of interest among Local Enterprise Partnership board members.

Jake Berry: It is vital that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are transparent in the way they work and accountable to the local people they work with. We are committed to the improvement of LEP governance and transparency and want all LEPs to be well placed to deliver economic growth at the local level. Strengthened LEPs (July 2018) set out Government’s continued commitment to LEPs and brought forward reforms to their leadership, governance, accountability, financial reporting and geographical boundaries.Every year the Department undertakes an Annual Performance Review with each LEP where it evaluates each LEP’s performance in key areas of strategy, delivery and governance. The Department has also conducted a series deep dives to review the governance, transparency and accountability processes and culture in LEPs in more detail. We continue to build up a holistic system which provides assurance across the full range of LEP activity and is effective in responding quickly and identifying risks which require further support. Details of last year’s assurance process can be found in the Permanent Secretary’s response to the Public Accounts Committee Report into governance and department oversight of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP.Through our LEP National Assurance Framework (November 2016) and through the publication of the LEP governance and transparency best practice guidance (January 2018), the Department has set out the policies and processes that LEPs must have in place to prevent conflicts of interests among board members and staff. In line with these requirements, each LEP must publish and implement a conflict of interest policy. All board members must adopt and publish the Department’s bespoke proforma register of interests which they are required to update regularly. We continue to work with LEPs to develop their capabilities around governance and transparency, with the Department actively monitoring key risks and intervening quickly when improvements are required.

A34: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2018 to Question 179305 on A34: Oxfordshire, what recent discussions his Department's Cities and Local Growth Unit has had with Oxfordshire County Council on the delivery of the A34 Lodge Hill scheme within the planned timescales; what recent assessment that unit has made of whether that scheme will be delivered on time; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: My department is funding up to £9.4 million to Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership for the delivery of the A34 Lodge Hill interchange. The Cities and Local Growth Unit requires updates and proof the scheme is on track in order to provide the agreed funding on a yearly basis between 2017/18 – 2020/21. In March 2018 the unit was satisfied the project was on track to be completed as planned and provided the second wave of funding.Oxfordshire County Council are the scheme promoter and are leading discussions with Her Majesty’s Government. Highways England are partnering and facilitating discussions with Oxfordshire County Council regularly, and meeting them on a monthly basis as they develop their proposal to add south-facing slips to the A34 Lodge Hill interchange. They are currently compiling the evidence needed to demonstrate that the plans will not have an adverse effect upon the safe and efficient operation of the network.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by his Department in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The department has no central record from which to determine the number and proportion of its staff currently in receipt of universal credit. There are a number of different factors which determine whether or not an individual is eligible to receive universal credit and, as most of this information is not held centrally, we are unable to estimate the number and proportion of staff eligible to receive or likely to have applied for universal credit.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

Justin Tomlinson: In contracts used across government, including at the Department for Work and Pensions there are clauses that vary in different forms, typically these clauses require the supplier to ensure that neither it, nor any of its Affiliates, bring the Authority into disrepute by engaging in any act or omission which is reasonably likely to diminish the trust that the public places in the Authority, regardless of whether or not such act or omission is related to the Supplier’s obligations under said Agreement. These clauses do not prevent the contracting bodies from making statements critical of government policy or politicians, and certainly do not prevent whistle-blowing (as this would be unlawful). They are designed to protect government, to ensure that contractors adhere to good working practices and do not engage in activities that will bring the Authority into disrepute or otherwise harm the confidence of the public in Government.

Universal Credit: Housing

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that alternative payment arrangements are put in place as soon as possible to avoid rent arrears for tenants and a loss of income for landlords and agents.

Alok Sharma: A Managed Payment to Landlords (MPTL) is an Alternate Payment Arrangement (APA) that minimises the risk of claimants failing to pay their rent by paying an amount equivalent to the housing cost of their Universal Credit directly to their landlord, on the claimant’s behalf.The decision to move a claimant on to managed payments can occur at the outset of the claim or when a claimant has accrued rent arrears - at two months or in some cases following one month due to ‘persistent underpayment’ of their rent. However, an APA can be requested at any point during the Universal Credit claim, as a claimant’s circumstances may change. A MPTL can be requested by the claimant, their representative or their landlord and will be considered on a case by case basis.Requests for MPTLs are dealt with as a priority. The processing time of these requests is also regularly monitored. Landlords who are given access to the Landlord Portal are also given Trusted Partner status which allows them to make recommendations on whether an MPTL should be put in place. All APA recommendations from Trusted Partners will be implemented in good faith by DWP.

Universal Credit: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the longest length of time was for a claimant of universal credit in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency to receive an initial payment.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Parkinson's Disease

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of people with Parkinson’s disease who have received enhanced levels of personal independence payments and the ongoing award in (a) Alyn and Deeside constituency and (b) the UK.

Sarah Newton: Due to a small, potentially disclosive, population size, the information requested for claimants with Parkinson’s disease in the Alyn and Deeside constituency is not available. Between April 2013 and 31st July 2018, 30% of successful Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants in Great Britain with Parkinson’s disease were awarded the highest possible award (enhanced mobility and enhanced daily living components of PIP) and an ongoing award. Table 1: Volumes and proportion of successful PIP claimants with Parkinson’s disease who received the described awards (April 2013 to July 31st 2018)  Claimants awarded PIP with Parkinson’s diseaseEnhanced Daily Living, Enhanced Mobility and Ongoing AwardProportion of successful PIP claimants with Parkinson’s disease awarded the highest level of award and an on-going awardGreat Britain9,5602,86030%Source: PIP ADSNotes:Data is based on main disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claims.Data includes only claimants who were awarded PIP in their initial decision prior to any Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) or Appeal action.Ongoing awards do not have an end date, but will be subject to a light touch review at the 10 year point.This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.Data has been rounded to the nearest per cent.Figures are for Great Britain only.Latest data available to 31st July 2018.

Department for Work and Pensions: Training

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence-based protocol on ME are healthcare professionals employed by his Department required to learn as part of their training.

Sarah Newton: Functional assessments are delivered on behalf of the Department by a range of suppliers. Health Professionals carrying out these functional assessments have access to training such as evidence based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development. Health Professionals are not required to be an expert in a particular medical condition. They are expected to have a broad knowledge of different medical conditions and work with claimants to assess how these affect their daily life. All Health Professionals must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training and competence. They must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor and must also be fully registered and have at least 2 years post full-registration experience, although this can be waived in exceptional circumstances by the Department. DWP are committed to ensuring claimants receive high quality, objective and accurate assessments. We continue to work extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance and training in order to ensure the quality of the services are continuously improved.

Carers: Unemployment

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2018 to Question 176531 on Carers: Unemployment, what (a) data and (b) methodology her Department uses to determine decisions on those interventions.

Sarah Newton: The data that the Department uses on Carers unemployment comes from the Family Resources Survey. The latest Family Resources Survey data is for 2016/17. This report and the carers data tables can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-201617 For Carers on Universal Credit who carry out caring duties for over 35 hours per week there are no mandatory interventions for them to attend. For Carers on Universal Credit who carry out caring duties under 35 hours a week they will be subject to mandatory interventions. These interventions will vary in frequency taking into account their household circumstances. Carers on Income Support have a mandatory intervention every three years which is a work focussed intervention with a work coach. Where a carer has agreed to undertake some work focussed activity, then DWP will offer appropriate interventions to help them get back to work. These will be tailored to reflect the needs and circumstances of the carer, the local labour market and other relevant factors

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make audio visual recording facilities available for personal independence payment and employment and support allowance assessments.

Sarah Newton: As part of our commitment to improve the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment process we have been progressing options to video record PIP face-to-face assessments. Over the summer we gathered views on video recording from claimants, representative bodies and from Health Professionals in order to inform a live testing pilot later in the year, which will inform wider rollout decisions. Providing they give advance notice, claimants of Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit can already ask for their assessment to be audio recorded and equipment will be provided. Claimants may also use their own equipment provided they meet certain conditions required by DWP.

Department for Work and Pensions: Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff in receipt of universal credit; and if she will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Employees claiming Universal Credit have no obligation to inform DWP they are receiving benefits.

Credit Unions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the credit union expansion project.

Guy Opperman: Government is committed to facilitating sustainable financial services that give consumers greater choice in accessing credit. Credit union membership in Great Britain has increased year-on-year since 2014, rising to around 1.32 million members in 2017; this was an increase of over 150,000 individuals over the 3 year period. It is even more encouraging that credit unions are becoming more popular with junior members; in 2017 there were over 139,000 junior members of credit unions in Great Britain compared to around 128,000 in 2014. The Credit Union Expansion Project (CUEP) aims were for participating credit unions to modernise and grow in a financially sustainable way, over time. The contractor aimed to deliver that by enabling credit unions to access a standardised banking service.CUEP has delivered an Automated Loans and Decision tool (ALD) used by over 70 credit unions, centralised services such as a standardised front facing website, and that the ALD has allowed credit unions to achieve up to 40% administrative savings on delivering loans and reduce provision for unpaid debt by over £1 million. CUEP also led to a number of credit unions to merge, and others to work together to develop standardised products and deliver local marketing campaigns to increase membership. CUEP contributed to credit unions on the platform to increase the value of loans made.Due to the Contractors failure to meet contractual milestones, DWP terminated the CUEP contract on 16th February 2018. Whilst the contractor has not met their contractual agreement, they have delivered a banking platform that allows credit union members to receive a range of banking services and benefit from more affordable credit. At the point the contract was terminated the platform was being used by three credit unions with a total of approximately 16.5k members allowing members to benefit from 24 hour online access to their accounts, and receive faster payments on a loan on the same day, usually within 4 hours.

Universal Credit: Children

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on children in families of the two-child limit policy for universal credit.

Alok Sharma: An impact assessment of the policy of providing support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit, which considered the impact of the policy on families and other protected groups, was published in July 2015 and is available at:https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf Child Benefit is not affected by these changes and will continue to be paid regardless of family size.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence her Department has for the claim that the two-child policy limit will increase household financial resilience.

Alok Sharma: This policy ensures that the benefits system is fair to those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it, ensuring those on benefits face the same financial choices around the number of children they can afford as those supporting themselves solely through work, and encouraging parents to reflect carefully on their readiness to support an additional child. Reflecting carefully on readiness to support an additional child could have a positive effect on financial resilience. The impact assessment of the policy was published in 2015 and at the time was scrutinised by SSAC and in Parliament.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

*No heading*

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the risk of flooding at properties neighbouring the Quaggy river  as a result of alterations to the flood defenses and construction of a school on the Bowring sports ground.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) is in pre-application discussions with the Education Funding Agency and Robert West Architects with regards to potential alterations to flood defences at Bowring sports ground. The EA is seeking changes to improve the proposed access route to the flood storage area, access to the flood wall, confidence over the ability to raise the wall for future climate change if needed, and the long term stability of the flood wall. These measures will ensure that the EA can maintain the flood defence assets and ensure flood risk is not increased, now or in the future.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

George Eustice: None of Defra’s contracts include any statement that could be interpreted as a “gagging clause” of this kind. For some EU Exit related work, we have entered Non-Disclosure Agreements with the aim being to protect the United Kingdom’s position in relation to the ongoing negotiations.

Food: Waste Disposal

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2018 to Question 161049 on Waste Management, when the Resources and Waste Strategy will be published.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We will publish the Resources and Waste Strategy by the end of the year.

Recycling

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether local authorities are responsible for monitoring the extent of recycling undertaken by businesses.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No, they are not.

Medical Equipment: Waste Disposal

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2018 to Question 177254 on Medical equipment: waste disposal, how many of the 155 permitted healthcare waste sites in England are hospitals.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Of the 155 permitted healthcare waste sites in England, 16 are located at hospitals.

Hornets

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk of an Asian Hornet invasion in autumn 2018.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: With increasing population levels of Asian hornet in Europe, the risk of incursions into the UK has increased. The GB Non-Native Species Risk Assessment published in 2011 reviewed the risk posed by this species and identified multiple pathways by which Asian hornet could arrive in the UK. Since the arrival of Asian hornet in France in 2004, Defra has been aware of the potential impact of this hornet on our bees and beneficial insects. We have plans in place to detect and tackle it, which we have successfully deployed several times since the first UK incursion in autumn 2016. We encourage members of the public to become familiar with this insect by, for example, visiting the National Bee Unit’s BeeBase website, and to report suspected sightings to the authorities immediately.

European Chemicals Agency

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the capacity of  (a) his Department and (b) agencies of his Department to replicate the functions of the European Chemicals Agency in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government, the EA and the HSE have taken appropriate steps to ensure that a regulatory scheme for chemicals will be ready before the UK leaves the EU in 2019.

Chemicals: EU Law

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of continued participation in the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals programme in (a) any withdrawal agreement with the EU and (b) the event that the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As set out in the Government’s White Paper on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union we are aiming for a UK-EU free trade area on goods, including chemicals, to ensure trade is as free and frictionless as possible. We are seeking participation in the European Chemical Agency, accepting its rules including the REACH Regulation and contributing to its costs.As part of this, we would be seeking to secure access to relevant IT systems and data. This approach will enable us to meet our objective of ensuring that chemicals only need to be approved once in either market and ensure that UK businesses can continue to register chemical substances directly, rather than working through an EU-based representative.

Coal

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 176140 on coal, what tonnage of house coal was the calculation based on that 3.3 kilotonnes of PM2.5 emissions were produced by burning house coal in the UK in 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The 3.3 kilotonnes of PM2.5 emissions from domestic burning of coal is based on the figure of 361.88 kilotonnes, taken from the 2016 Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: CPL Industries

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings (a) he (b) his Ministers and (c) his officials have had with CPL Ltd over the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: My officials have met a variety of stakeholders including a range of fuel suppliers, chimney sweeps and other interested parties over the past year to develop proposals for reducing the impact of domestic burning on air quality. This has included meetings with coal merchants in April and wood suppliers in October. They met CPL in bilateral meetings in January, March and April this year. Ministers have not met CPL over the past year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Competition and Markets Authority

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his department and (c) officials in his department, have had with the Competition and Markets Authority on CPL Ltd in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No Defra Ministers or officials have met the Competitions and Markets Authority on CPL Ltd in the last 12 months.

Plastics: Supermarkets

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage retailers to introduce plastic-free supermarket aisles.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is currently working with retailers to encourage their efforts to reduce packaging waste and to explore the introduction of plastic-free supermarket initiatives in which all the food is loose, giving consumers the choice to make greener decisions. Packaging plays a valuable role in increasing shelf-life of many food items and therefore reduces food waste. However, there are likely to be opportunities where offering food loose may help to reduce plastic waste whilst not impacting on shelf life. The Government is also looking at further ways to reduce avoidable waste and recycle more as part of its Resources and Waste Strategy to be published later this year.

Animal Welfare and Public Health

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on the installation of a new IT system to replace the trade control and expert system for the maintenance of public and animal health and welfare.

David Rutley: Defra has been developing a new Import Notification Service to control and maintain public and animal health and welfare when the UK leaves the EU. The service will replace elements of the European Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) which currently handles UK imports of animals, products of animal origin, high risk food, feed and bees. Development and testing continue and the new service will be available for early testing in January 2019.

Home Office

Visas: Overseas Students

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has to replicate the provisions of Tier 2 visa requirements for EU students studying in the UK after the UK has left the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and we will publish a White Paper later in the autumn.The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its report on the impact of international students in the UK in September 2018. The Government welcomes this report and thanks the MAC for their work. The report makes it clear that international students offer a positive economic benefit to the UK and offers a number of policy recommendations. We will be considering this report carefully and engaging widely as we develop proposals for the future system which will be implemented from 2021.

Visas: Overseas Students

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing short-term visas for students from EU countries studying in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system and we plan to publish a White Paper later in the autumn.The Migration Advisory Committee recently published its report on the impact of international students in the UK. The report makes it clear that international students, including short-term students, offer positive economic benefit to the UK and offers a number of policy recommendations. The Government is carefully considering the recommendations and will be setting out its full response in due course.

English Language: Education

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on the English language teaching industry in the UK of the UK leaving the EU.

Caroline Nokes: We recognise the valuable contribution all international workers, including teachers, make to our society and our economy. We will continue to welcome those with the skills and expertise to make our nation better still.In July 2017, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the European Union and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC published their report on 18 September.We are carefully considering their recommendations and will be setting out further detail on future immigration arrangements later this autumn.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to engage with employers and community leaders in (a) Cornwall and (b) the South West on the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes: Ministers and officials have been engaging with people, communities and businesses across the whole of the UK since the Referendum. This is an absolutely essential part of the Government’s exit approach and is in addition to the four stakeholder groups on the EU Settlement Scheme which meet monthly.Engagement on the EU Settlement Scheme in the South West, to date, has taken place in Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol and Yeovil. The Government is committed to visiting all nations and regions of the UK, including Cornwall, as part of its engagement programme. This programme is ongoing and will continue beyond the UK leaving the European Union, on 29th March 2019. As part of the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, EU citizens resident in the UK have until 30 June 2021 to apply for their status.

Immigrants: Skilled Workers

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for indefinite leave to remain were made by Tier 1 migrants in the last 12 months; and how many of those applications were declined.

Caroline Nokes: The specific information you have requested is not currently published.Information on total refusals and grants by category of settlement (indefinite leave to remain) is published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics, Settlement table se_02_q, latest edition at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2018/list-of-tables#settlement

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Standards

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the average response time to dwelling fires by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service in each year since 2013-14.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office published the latest statistics on average response times to fires in England on 25 January 2018. The average response times for dwelling fires recorded by Greater Manchester FRS are shown in the table below:2013-142014-152015-162016-176 mins 36 secs7 mins 13 secs6 mins 55 secs6 mins 46 secsFigures for 2017-18 will be released in Winter 2018-19.

Hare Coursing

James Cartlidge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle hare coursing.

Mr Nick Hurd: The police have a range of powers to tackle hare coursing through the game acts and the Hunting Act 2004. My officials have engaged with affected police forces on the issue of hare coursing. However, decisions on how the available powers are used are operational matters for the police.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Staff

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firefighter posts there were in the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15, (c) 2015-16, (d) 2016-17 and (e) 2017-18.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office published the latest statistics on firefighter numbers in England on 26 October 2017. The number of firefighters (full time equivalent) employed by Greater Manchester FRS on the 31st March each year are shown in the table below:2013201420152016201720181,6141,5321,4501,3851,2921,291

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Staff

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Department is taking to ensure the provision of mental welfare services to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service officers.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is essential that firefighters receive the support they require to undertake their role and that health and wellbeing services are in place should they require them.It is the responsibility of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that they have appropriate support and wellbeing provisions in place to reflect the specific needs of their workforce. The new inspection regime – Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services will be considering how well the service understands the wellbeing needs of their workforce; how well they take early action to improve wellbeing; and to what extent is a culture of promoting health, safety and wellbeing evident at all levels in the fire and rescue service.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service: Standards

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with the Mayor of Greater Manchester  on the adequacy of the provision of fire services in the last six months.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Secretary spoke to the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham during the moorland fires on Saddleworth Moor near Manchester, as advised in 2nd July statement by Nick Hurd to House of Commons as stated in Hansard at https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-07-02/debates/B99D43C6-EFCF-4C33-AF83-1E17518C73C5/SaddleworthMoorAndTamesideOngoingFire?highlight=saddleworth#contribution-26957472-C19C-4BD7-90E9-C44F9501B1D5In addition, Nick Hurd visited Greater Manchester on 1st August 2018 and met with the interim chief fire officer https://www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-meets-and-thanks-wildfire-firefighters

Fires

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will make an assessment of the efficiency of the Fire Service's response to the the wildfires of Summer 2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government was extremely impressed by the fire and rescue services response to this summer’s unprecedented wildfire incidents. The Home Office directly supports a number of specialist capabilities, such as High Volume Pumps, which were used during the incidents, and funds the National Resilience Team of firefighters who coordinated the highly effective mutual aid between fire and rescue services.As with all responses to major incidents, the local fire and rescue services, National Resilience Assurance Team and the Home Office are looking at lessons learned to consider any ways in which performance can be improved.

Cannabis: Prescriptions

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether GPs will be required to notify (a) the police and (b) the Home Office when making prescriptions for medicinal cannabis.

Mr Nick Hurd: From 1 November, certain cannabis-based products for medicinal use, that meet conditions related to the quality of their manufacture and supply routes, can be prescribed by doctors on the specialist register of the General Medical Council (GMC). GPs will not be able to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products for their patients.There is no requirement for specialist doctors to notify the police or the Home Office when issuing prescription for these products. Controlled Drug Accountable Officers have a statutory responsibility to secure the safe management and use of controlled drugs. This includes a duty to monitor the prescribing, supply and administration (if applicable) of all controlled drugs and liaise with the police to investigate suspected diversion.

Deportation: Windrush Generation

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number of people scheduled for removal to Nigeria and Ghana on 28 March 2017 who were eligible for assistance under the Windrush scheme.

Caroline Nokes: There were 60 people scheduled for removal to Nigeria and Ghana on a returns charter flight planned for 28 March 2017.Any individual who believes they are protected under the provisions of the 1971 Immigration Act is able to contact the Windrush Taskforce, who will help to identify their current status. Information on the Windrush Taskforce is readily available on the Home Office website. None of the individuals have contacted the Taskforce.

Asylum: Iran

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims his Department has dealt with from asylum seekers from Iran over the last five years; and how many of those claims were (a) accepted and (b) refused.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications and initial decisions (including the number of grants and refusals), broken down by nationality, in the quarterly Immigration Statistics publication. The latest figures, up until June 2018, are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2018

Wales Office

Industry: North Wales

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on industry in North Wales.

Mims Davies: We have put forward a serious and credible proposal for the future relationship between the UK and the EU, which will ensure that the UK, including North Wales, continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for industry.

Devolution: Wales

Stephen Kinnock: What assessment he has made of the effect on the devolution settlement in Wales of the UK leaving the EU.

Alun Cairns: Leaving the EU will result in a significant increase in the decision-making powers of the Welsh Assembly and Welsh Government.This is another step forward in Welsh devolution. It is hard to believe that the last Labour Government left us with the LCO model, which hardly showed confidence in colleagues in Cardiff Bay.

A55: Wales

Hywel Williams: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on traffic flows on the A55 in North Wales.

Mims Davies: The Government recognises the strategic importance of the A55 to the Welsh economy, particularly to the port of Holyhead. After leaving the EU we want to ensure that traffic continues to flow freely at all UK ports and airports, and we will seek to ensure that customs arrangements and mechanisms are as frictionless as possible.

Railways: Wales

Chris Elmore: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on additional investment for Welsh railway infrastructure.

Alun Cairns: I have regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on investment in railway infrastructure in Wales, most recently last week. Network Rail’s proposed budget for investment in the Wales Route for 2019-24 is more than £1.5 billion. This is a record investment in Wales’ railways.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

David Mundell: Other than for minor or bespoke purchases, the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not normally undertake direct procurement or tendering of external agencies or consultant contracts. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government, Cabinet Office or the Ministry of Justice.The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland also holds a small number of contracts directly. We do not insert gagging clauses into our contracts.

Scotland Office: Advertising

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising in each month since May 2017.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland’s social media expenditure for the given period is as follows: MonthTwitterFacebook/Instagram2017-2018June£468.68£0.00July£0.00£400.29August£0.00£499.93September£0.00£490.75October£0.00£499.82November£1,460.51£3,436.95December£1,812.41£3,090.28January£590.49£2,435.23February£16.32£96.39March£3,025.32£6,875.662018-2019April£20.00£285.45May£202.21£736.11June£32.70£2,944.14July£0.00£1,105.28August£667.37£1,068.14September£1,051.35£214.62

Scotland Office: Advertising

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on non-social media advertising in each month since May 2017.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has spent the following on advertising on Google. We have not purchased advertising on any other non-social media channel.  2017-18MonthGoogleMarch£1,647.382018-2019August£0.33September£15.48

Scotland Office: Public Relations

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of his Department's communications team in the most recent financial year for which information is available.

David Mundell: The communications team in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland is resourced to support the Secretary of State and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland with effective engagement and communication with the public. This includes supporting communications on: the UK Government’s preparations and plans for EU Exit, the delivery and implementation of significant new powers over tax and welfare to the Scottish Parliament through the Scotland Act 2016, and information on UK Government policies and initiatives including City Deals, the UK Industrial Strategy, UK aid, pensions, security and foreign affairs. The communications team also supports other UK Government departments with providing information to the public in Scotland. The cost of the communications team in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland in the financial year 2017-2018 was £713,225.90

Scotland Office: Facebook

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether it is his policy to place adverts on Facebook after that company introduces its transparency register.

David Mundell: Digital advertising is a cost-effective way for the Government to reach audiences with important information on UK Government policies such as pensions, start-up loans, cyber security, minimum and living wage rates, support for childcare costs and other important information the public needs to be aware of. All of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland’s Facebook posts are made publicly available to general audiences in Scotland.

Domestic Visits: Glasgow North East

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will list all UK Government ministerial visits to the Glasgow North East burgh constituency since it was created in 2005.

David Mundell: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Exiting the European Union

British Overseas Territories: Brexit

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the British overseas territories of (a) the UK leaving the EU without a deal and (b) the EU accepting the Chequers proposals.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The UK Government regularly engages with the Overseas Territories as we exit the EU to ensure they are prepared for all exit scenarios and that their interests and priorities are properly taken into account. The UK - Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council on EU Negotiations provides a mechanism for dialogue between the Overseas Territories and the Government. It ensures representatives can share their assessments about the potential effects of EU Exit scenarios on their Territories. Gibraltar, as the only Overseas Territory in the EU, has its own Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar EU Negotiations). In all these meetings, Ministers have discussed a variety of issues including contingency planning and the UK’s proposals for our future relationship with the EU.

Eurostat

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to Eurostat, whether (a) the general public will lose access and (b) whether the UK Government will lose the ability to contribute when the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: After exit, the general public will be able to access all published data from Eurostat as normal. Under the terms of the draft Withdrawal Agreement the UK Government will continue to work closely with and contribute data to Eurostat during the implementation period.The nature of the statistical relationship we have with the EU beyond the implementation period will be decided as part of the future relationship negotiations.

Treasury

Treasury: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

Robert Jenrick: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search” HM Treasury has reviewed the standard forms of contract it uses. There are clauses about interaction between the parties, how to protect the parties’ best interests and safeguard commercial and sensitive information which have been present in government contracts for a long time. These clauses are not intended to stop criticism of Ministers, the Department or its policies.

Income Tax: Tax Allowances

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase personal income tax allowances for lower rate taxpayers after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: In April, the government took a significant step towards meeting these commitments; the personal allowance increased from £11,500 to £11,850, and the higher rate threshold from £45,000 to £46,350. By year end 2018-19, these changes will have benefitted over 31 million individuals since the start of the last Parliament, 1.2 million people on the lowest incomes will have been taken out of income tax altogether, and a typical taxpayer will pay £1,075 less income tax, compared to 2010-11. As with all aspects of the tax system, the government will keep the personal allowance under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken as part of the annual Budget process in the context of the wider public finances.

Bank Services

Joan Ryan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2018 to Question 177328 on Bank Services, what plans his Department has to reduce the number of unbanked people in the UK.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent meetings (a) he, (b) other Ministers and (c) staff of his Department have had with the FinTech industry on reducing the number of unbanked people in the UK.

John Glen: The Government takes financial inclusion very seriously and is working to ensure everyone can have access to useful and affordable financial services, including a bank account. Under the Payment Accounts Regulations (PAR) 2015, the government has required the nine largest UK current account providers to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to consumers who are either unbanked or who are not eligible for a standard current account. Basic bank accounts have all the main features of a standard current account, except for an overdraft facility and chequebook, and must be fee-free, even where a standing order or direct debit fails. In November 2017, the Government also announced the creation of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. The Forum’s mission is to ensure that people, regardless of their background or income, have access to useful and affordable financial products and services. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Taxation: Self-assessment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance (a) his Department and (b) HMRC issue to small businesses to ensure the accurate completion of tax returns.

Mel Stride: The Government provides comprehensive guidance available on the GOV.UK website to help small businesses complete their tax returns correctly. The tax return itself, whether online or on paper, comes with accompanying guidance notes. HMRC also provides additional help and support through a variety of other channels - including helpsheets, YouTube videos, webinars and dedicated phone lines.

Credit: Interest Rates

Layla Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department most recently made representations to the Financial Conduct Authority on enforcing rules on affordability checks for payday loans; and when his Department next plans to make such representations.

John Glen: The Regulation of consumer credit is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers and to take action against firms and individuals that do not meet its standards. In 2017, the FCA issued total fines of £229 million. FCA rules are based on the principle that money should only be lent to a consumer if they can afford to repay it. The rules set out what is expected of firms, and the sanctions if they lend irresponsibly Treasury ministers and officials meet regularly with the FCA, and the government will continue to work closely with the FCA to ensure all customers are treated fairly.

Treasury: Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by his Department in receipt of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury does not record or collate information on staff in receipt of universal credit.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much accrued to the public purse as a result of the Royal Bank of Scotland paying a dividend to shareholders on 12 October 2018.

John Glen: The Government’s shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is managed at arm's length and on a commercial basis through UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI), a company which is wholly owned by the government, with the objective of creating and protecting value for the taxpayer. In August 2018 RBS announced that it intended to resume the payment of dividends to ordinary shareholders, and that an interim dividend of 2 pence per ordinary share would be paid to shareholders. On 12 October 2018 the Government received a dividend of just over £150m. All money recovered from our shareholding in RBS will be used to pay down the national debt.

Living Wage

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers have been prosecuted for not paying employees the National Living Wage in the last two years.

Mel Stride: The government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) receives it. There were three successful prosecutions for NMW offences in 2016/17 and one in 2017/18. Breaches of NMW legislation are normally a civil matter, where the consequences for not complying with NMW rules can include fines of 200% of the arrears and public naming. Criminal prosecution is reserved for the most serious non-compliance, with these cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service who decide whether to prosecute. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gaming Machines

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the reduction in the maximum bet on fixed odds betting terminals.

Tracey Crouch: The change to stakes will be delivered through secondary legislation. We intend to lay the draft affirmative regulations before Parliament, for the usual process of approval, in the Autumn term. A date for implementation of the change will be announced in due course.

Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) organisations and (b) individuals have signed up to the cyber security information sharing partnership.

Margot James: The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP) is a joint industry and government initiative set up to exchange cyber threat information in real time, in a confidential and dynamic environment. The benefits of CiSP include giving members a secure environment to engage with industry and government counterparts, supplying early warning of cyber threats, and helping members learn from their experiences and successes of other users. In October 2018 the total number of organisations registered on CiSP is over 6500 and the number of individual users registered is over 11,600.

Museums and Galleries: Glasgow

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing direct UK Government funding to support museums and art galleries in the city of Glasgow.

Michael Ellis: Cultural policy has been devolved to the nations of the United Kingdom since 1999. Funding for museums and galleries in Glasgow is therefore the responsibility of the local authority, the Scottish Government, and its agencies, who are best placed to determine how to support the city’s cultural assets.

ICT: Vacancies

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of cyber-employment vacancies.

Margot James: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has commissioned research into cyber security roles in the UK Labour Market, which includes private organisations, charities and public sector organisations of a variety of sizes and sectors. The research is focused on identifying what are cyber security skills, who works in cyber security roles (size of cyber security teams, level of seniority, skills set of the individuals), what are the current skills available and what are the current skills gaps in the market. Once complete, we expect to publish this research and its recommendations which will then feed into our strategic development of cyber security skills interventions going forward. This is in line with the government’s commitment to ensuring the UK has a sustainable pipeline of cyber security talent.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Contracts

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether gagging clauses have been used in contracts drawn up between his Department and any charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies with the intention of stopping any criticism of Ministers of his Department.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office has not used gagging clauses in any contracts with charities, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises or companies.

Northern Ireland Office: Universal Credit

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of staff employed by her Department in receipt of universal credit; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office does not record or collate information on staff in receipt of Universal Credit.

Attorney General

Money Laundering: Prosecutions

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Attorney General, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have been made by the Crown Prosecution Service under (i) Section 330 and (ii) Sections 327-329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each of the last five years.

Robert Buckland: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 23 October 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office. Official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.The number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 can be found here. Number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, 2013-201720132014201520162017 Prosecutions  Section 3279818801,063841878 Section 328310266317355288 Section 3291,050944921797737 Section 33033511Convictions  Section 327520447550601537 Section 328213150188257225 Section 329527541594567581 Section 33064231  (1) The figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) A defendant who appears before both magistrates’ court and Crown Court may not do so within the same year, meaning for a given year convictions may exceed prosecutions or sentences may not equal convictions. Defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.Data on prosecutions and convictions is published by the MoJ and can be found here. A breakdown of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering is as follows: Table 1. Number of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering, 2007-2017 (1)(2)(3)Money Laundering20132014201520162017Prosecutions2,3492,0952,3071,9981,906Convictions1,2691,1431,3361,4351,347(1) The figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) A defendant who appears before both magistrates’ court and Crown Court may not do so within the same year, meaning for a given year convictions may exceed prosecutions or sentences may not equal convictions. Defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.

Robert Buckland: The official statistics relating to crime and policing are maintained by the Home Office. Official statistics relating to sentencing, criminal court proceedings, offenders brought to justice, the courts and the judiciary are maintained by the Ministry of Justice.The number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 can be found here. Number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under sections 327-330 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, 2013-201720132014201520162017 Prosecutions  Section 3279818801,063841878 Section 328310266317355288 Section 3291,050944921797737 Section 33033511Convictions  Section 327520447550601537 Section 328213150188257225 Section 329527541594567581 Section 33064231  (1) The figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) A defendant who appears before both magistrates’ court and Crown Court may not do so within the same year, meaning for a given year convictions may exceed prosecutions or sentences may not equal convictions. Defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.Data on prosecutions and convictions is published by the MoJ and can be found here. A breakdown of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering is as follows: Table 1. Number of prosecutions and convictions for money laundering, 2007-2017 (1)(2)(3)Money Laundering20132014201520162017Prosecutions2,3492,0952,3071,9981,906Convictions1,2691,1431,3361,4351,347(1) The figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(3) A defendant who appears before both magistrates’ court and Crown Court may not do so within the same year, meaning for a given year convictions may exceed prosecutions or sentences may not equal convictions. Defendants who appear before both courts may be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court.